Secrecy surrounds UBC professor’s suspension

The news an award-winning author has been suspended from his position as a professor at the University of British Columbia has many people asking questions, but there are few answers.

Earlier this week, Steven Galloway was suspended with pay from his position as associate professor and acting chair of the creative writing department at the Vancouver school because of some “serious allegations” against him, dean of arts Gage Averill wrote in a memo.

An investigation had not yet begun when Averill announced Galloway’s suspension.

“No findings have been made about any wrongdoing by Prof. Galloway,” Averill said.

The suspension is the second time in six months a veil of secrecy has come over the UBC campus.

In August, it was revealed the university’s president, Dr. Arvind Gupta, had stepped down from his position just one year into a five-year term. The exact reason for his departure was never given, and while some said he faced racism, other reports said it likely had more to do with a rocky relationship with administration and the school’s board of governors.

On Friday, the school remained mum on the exact allegations against Galloway. Susan Denard, managing director for public affairs at UBC, said the school is no longer granting interviews “to maintain the integrity of an impartial, independent investigation.”

Rumours and innuendo are flying on social media and in blog posts, but students, staff and those interested in the story all seem to be speculating on the reasons behind the suspension, and no one appears to be offering up any facts.

School officials have said they did not learn about the allegations from the media. The CBC program The Fifth Estate is airing an episode Monday called School of Secrets, which includes interviews with people at UBC. The episode is about sexual assaults on university campuses.

Galloway, author of four novels, including Finnie Walsh and The Cellist of Sarajevo, could not be reached for comment and has remained mostly silent about the suspension. The 40-year-old did tell the Globe and Mail, “I don’t even know what the allegations are.”

But others have spoken up on his behalf. In a statement on Twitter, Random House Canada said it is “proud” to have published Galloway’s books and “we look forward to publishing his future books.”

Author Angie Abdou also tweeted her support.

“There has been no investigation into the Steven Galloway allegations, so why don’t we tweet what we do know about him? Smart, funny, kind,” she wrote. “Steven Galloway writes good books. His weirdness can always [sic] make laugh. One time Karen Solie was hungry & he gave her fish. #thingsweknow”

Another author, Nazanine Hozar, tweeted she has known Galloway for nine years and, “I have never seen or heard him do or say anything that could be construed as unacceptable.” She said he works hard to help his students and other authors, including herself.

“He is a genuinely decent man,” she wrote, linking to his Twitter account, which is private.

And Peter Darbyshire said while he doesn’t know any of the details involving the allegations against Galloway, “I do know he’s one of the most gifted, generous and caring writers I’ve met.”