University of Guyana (UG) Chancellor Professor Compton Bourne said that the current situation at the Turkeyen campus signals further deterioration, rather than improvement and not one for which he is suited and as such, he has decided to resign with effect from tomorrow.
Stabroek News managed to acquire a copy of the letter which Bourne had released to council members indicating his decision to step down as Chancellor after only days ago being re-elected. His decision would be seen as a victory for the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) and the University of Guyana Workers Union (UGWU), which opposed his reappointment.
Bourne explained in his letter that his initial term of office will come to an end on June 29 and although he values the confidence the council has placed in him when he was unanimously re-elected to the post for another term of three years, he is unable to accept the offer considering the “increasingly fractious climate of the university.
“I had hoped that by bringing the perspectives of modern university governance, performance requirements, performance standards, financial management and standards of collegial behaviour to deliberations in council and the wider university community, I would be making a positive contribution to the university’s development… I envisaged that progress would be gradual given the low morale among staff and students, widespread pessimism about the university, the poor academic calibre and low research productivity of many of its staff and the associated need for a substantial staff development programme, and the acute financial difficulties faced by the university,” Bourne said in his letter.
On the contrary, he noted that he has not seen development but instead rapid retrogression. “An unending series of protests demonstrations, deliberately inaccurate public statements, internecine anonymous memoranda, widening mistrust and antagonism between various segments of the university community and a marked diminution of willingness to engage in civil, rational discussion of issues and differences of opinion,” Bourne added.
Vice President of the UGSSA,
Dr Melissa Ifill, yesterday told this newspaper that Bourne has their best wishes while reiterating that they had called for his resignation because he was not thought to be acting in the best interest of the university.
“We wish him well. Our concern is the well-being of the university. We have no personal vendetta… We were uncomfortable with decisions and stances he has took. He was not inclined to address the issues we were facing so we didn’t think he was and would be in the future, an effective Chancellor,” Ifill said.
She added that they are now hoping for a wide consultation as it regards the appointment of a new Chancellor who would possess courage, commitment and also one who would be willing to engage stakeholders about the problems of the university.
“We anticipate the appointment of a new Chancellor who we hope would take UG forward in a spirit of compromise and who will look after the best interests of UG,” she added.
