University of Saskatchewan still under fire for academic freedom after resignation of provost

The University of Saskatchewan and its uncomfortable place at the wrong end of a debate over academic freedom didn’t seem to improve its position much this week with the resignation of Provost Brett Fairbairn, which was seemingly intended to quash the controversy surrounding a botched attempt to fire a tenured professor.

Fairbain announced his resignation late Monday night after the school partially backtracked from the termination of Prof. Robert Buckingham who had spoke out about a controversial cost-saving restructuring plan the university was undertaking.

But the University of Saskatchewan remains under fire after the controversial firing of the Buckingham and more grandly accused of attacking academic freedom at the school.

As many as 650 people, including students and alumni, were expected to attend a Tuesday protest on campus, to express their discontent with the academy.

"Though the sacrificial resignation of the Provost Brett Fairbairn is an adorable attempt at dealing with the issues at the university, it alone will do nothing to meaningfully resolve the issues that the University of Saskatchewan is facing," reads a Facebook post promoting the rally.

"Instead we expect to see a legitimate resolution in holding senior administration accountable, and a solution to the now compromised TransformUS process. Otherwise, the reputation of our university and the quality of education and scholarship at the university will be undermined for a prolonged period of time."

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TransformUS is a restructuring strategy that first prompted the conflict between Buckingham and university administrators. Buckingham publicly and critically opposed the program, leading the school to declare that he "demonstrated egregious conduct and insubordination" and had breached his contract.

Last week, the university announced that Buckingham had been fired as a professor and removed as the dean of the School of Public Health. He was escorted off campus and told he was not welcome to return.

Within days, backlash had prompted an about-face. The school announced that as a tenured professor, Buckingham would not be fired. But he would still be removed as head of the School of Public Health.

In announcing his resignation, Fairbain said it was for the well-being of the University of Saskatchewan. Meantime, the board of governors met on Monday to determine what steps they should take to clean up the mess.

Susan Milburn, chair of the University of Saskatchewan's board of governors, said in a statement the university’s actions had been in compliance with the University of Saskatchewan Act, though the board was still considering how to proceed.

“We do not want to act in haste and therefore we have not made any final decisions, other than to maintain our strong commitment to financial sustainability and renewal. We will conclude our due diligence before a decision is rendered on university leadership,” she said. “The board is, and has always been, committed to academic freedom and freedom of expression.”

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The changed tune elicited some celebration from the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), tasked to be a defender of academic freedom, though it certainly hasn’t settled the matter.

"The action of removing him as head of public health says that deans have no right to publicly advocate for their faculties, schools or colleges," CAUT said in a statement. "If that is the case, universities will be impoverished as their existence is premised on the value of vigorous and open debate leading to the best outcomes. There is no place in any legitimate university for the notion that deans have a duty of loyalty to the president that overrides their right and obligation to speak publicly on behalf of their faculties, schools or colleges."

The group has not publicly commented since the resignation of Fairbairn, though it's unlikely set Canadian professors at ease.

According to the StarPhoenix, an open letter has been sent to Milburn, signed by hundreds of professors from across Canada, stressing that, "deans at Canada’s public universities must be free to criticize and speak publicly against decisions being taken by their university administrations."

When Buckingham was first fired, at issue was the role of tenure – which provides professors with a level of job security that allows them to do their teaching and research without fearing reprisal from the academy. And while his tenure appears to have saved his job, the matter is still intrinsically tied to the question of academic freedom, which is still up for debate.

According to the journal Academic Matters, less than 30 per cent of college and university professors in Canada and the U.S. are either tenured or on the tenure track. The journal says tenure is under attack and could disappear entirely over the next few decades.

In 2011, Canada's universities adopted a new statement of academic freedom, calling it “fundamental to the mandate of universities to pursue truth, educate students and disseminate knowledge and understanding." It says that university leadership has a "major responsibility" to protect and promote the academic freedom of its staff.

Buckingham’s tenured position is his, if he still wants it. But his reputation has taken a hit and his position as dean of the School of Public Health has been ripped away. Are his colleagues sure they’d be protected should they speak their minds? And if they’re not, isn’t there still a problem?

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