Former President Arvind Gupta has released a statement in response to the documents UBC inadvertently leaked surrounding his surprise resignation early last August.
According to the statement, Gupta felt compelled to speak up when the documents came to light. “What was published is a one-sided representation of what transpired in the months prior to my resignation,” reads the emailed statement. “The assertions in the released documents were not based on facts or evidence given to me at any time.”
He reiterates that his commitment as president was to make UBC one of the top universities in the world.
“That goal meant substantial change, including a rethinking of priorities and refocusing on the academic mission. And change can make some people uneasy. So, it is no surprise that not everyone at the university embraced this vision and the required actions.”
Gupta notes that there was never any formal review of his performance, making it difficult for both him and the Board of Governors to assess what was necessary moving forward.
“It became clear to me that I did not have the support of the full Board and, as such, felt I had no other option but to resign in the best interest of the university.”
This puts an end to rumours that Gupta was fired by the board.
In an exclusive interview with The Globe and Mail earlier today, he admitted that he had some reservations about whether resigning was the right choice to make.
“In all honesty, I have spent the last six months reflecting on that decision,” he told The Globe. “I often think that maybe it wasn’t the right thing to do. Maybe I shouldn’t have resigned and I should have pushed back harder.”
The emailed statement ends with Gupta’s best wishes for the progress of the university for the benefit of itself, BC and Canada as a whole.