The faculty of education’s second search for a new dean has been “unsuccessful,” according to a February memo from President Santa Ono.
The memo — which was the first public communication on the search since the release of a shortlist of candidates in November — did not specify why the search had been unsuccessful and stated that further information about a third search will be released soon. But faculty and students said they’re exhausted and confused why one of the three shortlisted candidates was not appointed as the new dean.
Last year, the first search for a new dean was cancelled following concerns of anti-Black racism. Faculty members launched a petition — which 150 people signed — in support of Dr. Samson Nashon, a longtime faculty member who had not been longlisted for the dean position.
This second search began in early 2021 and ran the length of last year.
Two of the shortlisted candidates, one who currently works at UBC and one from an American university, did not comment for this story — one declined and one did not respond before press time.
Nashon, the third shortlisted candidate, said that he received a few emails from Boyden, a headhunting firm, asking for his patience following the interviews in November.
On Monday, February 14, Nashon received an email from Boyden, informing him that the search had been unsuccessful. He did not receive any further details on what happened with the search.
Dr. Stephen Petrina, a faculty member who was on the President’s Advisory Committee for this process, said that no reason was given to the public nor the committee on why this search was “unsuccessful.”
“The problem is when you had three qualified candidates interviewing and going through a long, long rigorous process — nothing failed,” he said.
Graduate Student Society President Kimani Karangu said it didn’t make sense to him why this search failed. He said there had been more communication during the second search, and all the candidates were very qualified.
“I think that the president let us down … because he had a good [list to choose] a dean from, but he did not. He let us down.”
Karangu said students who participated felt “disgruntled” that it seemed like their time and energy was for nothing. He said students are losing trust with the university administration, thus resulting in less engagement in university committees.
“Students are keeping away from those things because they think at the end of the day, the dice have been cast, it’s a formality, they just want to check a box that a student has been there.”
Peter Gouzouasis, a professor of music education in the department of curriculum and pedagogy, said the process to apply for dean takes significant time and dedication.
“One of these three stellar human beings should have been selected and recommended. That neither of the three fine people were appointed is a travesty in the hiring process. This is worrisome, alarming, disheartening, dismissive, leaving many, many people disenchanted in our faculty and across campus.”
However, Nashon made it clear he didn’t want to question the process.
“I give my story to the advisory committee, let the advisory committee make sense of it … you can’t know what can happen behind the scenes,” he said.
He said that the recruiting team could have been looking for something different than what he thought, but he is still curious as to what happened.
“Perhaps what becomes problematic is when we are told [there’s] an extensive review and [then they’re] ‘unable to determine.’ Usually there’s more than that, you give a bit of depth as to what happened. One wonders.”
Thandi Fletcher, a spokesperson for UBC, said the university thanks committee members for their “time, patience and dedication throughout this search,” and to faculty, staff and students who “contributed thoughtful feedback following the finalist interviews.”
On more specific concerns around the process, specifically as to what happened that deemed this search process “unsuccessful,” Fletcher said the university could not comment on hiring matters due to its confidentiality protocol.
“While we recognize this process is taking longer than anyone had hoped for, it is important that we do our due diligence to find the best qualified candidate for this important hire,” Fletcher wrote.
Fletcher noted that Dr. Jan Hare is currently serving as pro tem dean of education.
EDI concerns linger
However, some interviewed for this story expressed continued concerns about equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in this process.
Gouzouasis referenced the 2019 Universities Canada report on equity, diversity and inclusion at Canadian universities which found that while racialized people account for 22 per cent of the general Canadian population, they comprise only 8 per cent of senior leaders at the sample universities. Only 0.8 per cent of senior leaders are Black.
Gouzouasis said UBC could have made history and "unsurpassed progress" by hiring Nashon as the first Black dean of education in Canada. The Ubyssey could not verify this fact in time for publication.
“There was no reason not to take this historic step forward with our highly qualified colleague Professor Nashon,” Gouzouasis said.
Karangu said students also had concerns about EDI in deeming the search unsuccessful.
“In this particular case, there was a very good opportunity for the university to prove that point that they keep yapping: inclusion, diversity and equality," Karangu said.
However, Petrina said the committee put a lot of time and energy into making sure EDI was considered in this process given allegations of anti-Black racism from the previous search — something he said was successful given the diversity of candidates.
Nashon again made it clear that he didn’t want to appear to be questioning the outcome, but did admit that as a member of the faculty he wants to know what happened.
Karangu and Petrina also expressed concern that UBC brought back the same chairs of the cancelled 2020 search to chair the new search in 2021.
Former UBC Okanagan Provost Ananya Mukherjee-Reed, who had resigned from the committee amid the petition in December 2020, was reappointed as chair of the committee with no explanation about why she left, or why she came back. Provost Andrew Szeri was the co-chair for both searches.
The employment positions of the chairs also concerned Petrina — Mukherjee-Reed left UBC in January 2022 for a position at another university, while Szeri was not reappointed as provost. His term will end this summer.
“We had a provost from Vancouver overseeing a process wherein he no longer had any stake,” Petrina said.
However, Fletcher pointed to Policy AP5, the Deans Appointment Policy, as a reason for the same chairs.
Under AP5, the President's Advisory Committee is chaired by the UBC Vancouver Provost and the UBC Okanagan Provost in the case of a cross-campus appointment like this one.
“This policy determines the make-up of the Presidential Advisory Committee and also outlines the President’s commitment to considering equity and including a diverse range of perspectives and experiences from various academic disciplines and underrepresented stakeholder communities,” Fletcher wrote.
She said the committee members participate in EDI training.
But community members continue to be unhappy with the current situation, despite the justifications.
“I wish the president of the university would do his due diligence [in the next search] and make sure that he forms a team that has not been involved in this process before,” Karangu said.
Update on Monday, March 14 at 4:51 p.m.: The names of the two other shortlisted candidates have been removed due to privacy concerns.
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