On Campus

Premier Williams vetoed MUN presidential candidate?

“Individuals familiar with the situation” say that is the case

From The Globe and Mail:

The year-long hunt for a new president at Newfoundland’s Memorial University is at a standstill after Premier Danny Williams quashed the selection of the candidate chosen by a special search committee, say those familiar with the process.

The intervention, an unusual move at a public Canadian university, has the campus buzzing and is raising concerns about academic independence and the role of those chosen to govern the institution. While the provincial government has long had the last say on the appointment of Memorial’s president, that role has been a formality for decades, say those involved in past searches. Now, they say, the Premier’s involvement has thrown the process into disarray.

I have heard rumours about this alleged happening but I have not been able to substantiate them with anyone close to the selection process. The whole anonymous “individuals familiar with the situation” thing is a bit too Niger-gate for my taste.

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