More on Moore
Prince George, B.C.- It was a packed gallery this morning at the UNBC Board of Governor’s meeting as members of faculty and staff carried their message, again, that James Moore should not be the University’s new Chancellor.
Carrying placards, and in some cases wearing t-shirts that were imprinted with a clear message, those who oppose Moore’s appointment were given 20 minutes to speak their mind.
(at right, one of the t-shirts worn to the Board of Governors meeting this morning)
Those who oppose Moore as Chancellor say they have four concerns about the appointment of the former Conservative Cabinet member being made the symbolic head of the University:
- The inadequacy of the selection process
- the lack of transparency around the selection process
- the qualifications of James Moore to be given this appointment
- the politics of Moore whose Conservative government policies are against the kind of values the University is dedicated to defending
“What we’re looking for is some kind of serious consideration” says Associate Professor and Senator Michael Murphy “We aren’t demanding that our concerns be absolutely decisive and that some alternative candidate proposed by us replace James Moore, we’re asking for a respectful conversation where our accounts are taken into consideration and responded to in detail and we did not get that. We received an email from Mr. Matheson ( Chair of the Board of Governors) that was approximately two or three lines long, and not a single one of our concerns was mentioned.
That email, simply said, the Board of Governors had met, and had reconfirmed its decision to have James Moore, a UNBC alumnus, as the new Chancellor.
“That does not represent an adequate response” says Murphy.
Since Moore’s appointment was announced in late November, the opposition has been very strong. A petition against his appointment collected thousands of names, and two votes among students and alumni were overwhelmingly in favour of the appointment being reversed.
“People are very concerned about the reputation of this University and how that will affect our well being going forward” says Murphy.
So while those who did address the Board of Governors this morning, expressing their specific concerns about Moore’s appointment, Murphy says the Chair did not respond with immediate answers, “He simply said, I hear your concerns and we are going forward with this decision.”
The Senate ( made up of faculty members and students) will be meeting again in late February and will deal with two motions. The first motion is that Senate express its lack of confidence in the leadership of the Board of Governors, the second would see the Senate request that the Lieutenant Governor replace the Chair of the Board of Governors. A non confidence motion from the Senate has no “practical” effect says Murphy, “These are symbolic motions, but I think these motions express the depth of our commitment to this issue and the depth of our disappointment in the way the Board has handled its response to this issue.”
Comments
People getting a little upset up in Pleasantville. Not surprising considering the demographic up there.
Students and faculty can always vote with their feet. UN(H)BC is not the only game around. If a student has to reside away from home anyway, their are many other options and many university courses will transfer to other institutions.
Now, if the board of governors chooses to proceed anyway, it is a great indication of where their true concerns lie. It appears that those concerns are not in line with the students and faculty.
Do you as a student want to give your tuition to such a board of governance?
Do you as a faculty member want to be a face of such governance?
Isn’t there a time limit on these appointments? It’s not like he was appointed to the senate, a lifetime job with great benefits.
At some point, wouldn’t you think that the university, or even Moore himself, would come to the conclusion that this is such a distraction, that it no longer makes sense to proceed with the original appointment?
Please stop. I can’t take it anymoore……
This is nothing but an attempt to bully by a few members of the faculty and student body. They should be suspended or even expelled, there is no place for bullies at a publicly funded institution.
I don’t know Mr. Moore and I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I gotta say, if he had any class at all he’d say “no, thanks, I respect the UNBC community too much to continue to be such a distraction.” Just sayin’.
It would seem that the “inmates are wanting to run the asylum”. (No offense to any inmates)If the faculty and students spent as much effort in teaching and studying, UNBC would be #1 in all areas. The overwhelming sense of entitlement up on the hill is beginning to rival the smell from the sewage treatment plant.
There seems be be a lack of understanding in whose tax dollars built and maintain this facility.
I think I have changed my mind on this issue. If the best candidate the Conservative brain trust can come up with is James Moore, well then Prince George can look forward to an end of its status as a Conservative safe seat. Bring him on as chancellor, let him do his worst (he will), and let the dinosaurs go extinct.
Those who oppose Moore as Chancellor say they have four concerns about the appointment of the former Conservative Cabinet member being made the symbolic head of the University, concern #4 being “the politics of Moore whose Conservative government policies are against the kind of values the University is dedicated to defending.”
Ok, so what kind of values is the University dedicated to defending? And shouldn’t the University first and foremost be concerned about teaching and learning instead of defending values? When I went for my post-secondary education, my only concern was learning my course material, not the social engineering that seems to permeate every aspect of our current society!
And wouldn’t the faculty’s time and the student’s association’s time be better spent actually teaching or learning instead if whining and bitching?
Of course, if the appointment was to a left leaning liberal, huggy feely butt kisser, the faculty and students association would be dancing in the halls!
Get back to class!
I will go back to the Strike these Professor’s had last year. one of their slogan’s on Strike Placard’s was ……..Is UNBC Bush League ?
You can wonder who Indeed is Bush League. Mr. Moore certainly has a more disciplined Resume
Faculty and Students are out of line. Faculty should get to work and earn the money we pay them, and students should get back to studying.
What we have here a prime example of people who have no idea what their lot in life is. We are not paying for faculty and universities so that we can put up with this type of BS.
The decision has been made. Live with it.
Interesting how intolerant the liberal have become. Quite a spoiled bunch. Moore don’t back off or else the school bullies win.
Please stop. I can’t take it anymoore……DI you missed your calling . Or did you ? You should run the comedy scene in PG . It’s a tough crowd .
At a time when UNBC is struggling to stay afloat, the BoG knew that the Moore decision would be a marketing disaster. Yet they did it anyway. You can’t be any more stupid.
UNBC is now like a dead fish that stinks from the BoG head down.
Shadowy, you have it wrong, the spoiled faculty and naive students are the ones causing the marketing disaster.
Makes me sorry I supported the glass palace at one time
“4.the politics of Moore whose Conservative government policies are against the kind of values the University is dedicated to defending”
If the University has an official mission statement which expresses values which a former politician has not been supportive of or which he demonstrated to be diametrically opposed to, well then perhaps we have at least a stalemate. The University (having an environmentally green mission) was here first. Someone has to reconsider and in my opinion I do not fault the Senate ( made up of faculty members and students) for standing up for its principles, because of one does not stand for something one does not stand for anything, like freedom of choice and freedom of expression.
There is a big difference between standing up for your principles and being involved in partisan politics.
I’m sure if we wanted to put the previous Chancellors under the spotlight we could come up with many, many, reasons why they should not have been Chancellor.
So get on with the business of living, and quit the small town, small university, small mind politics.
Perhaps we are all getting depressed from the long winter, its time to go outside and get some sunlight.
Palopu wrote: “There is a big difference between standing up for your principles and being involved in partisan politics.”
It is a nice statement, but you fail to explain what the big difference is.
To me it is obvious that the two are very much intertwined in this case, especially as far as the comments on here go. The political left and the political right are readily visible not only on this topic but also virtually all other topics on here where one can find even the smallest crack in the door.
Stories like avalanches, house fires, etc., are immune from such comments.
As far as the principles that the University abides by, especially with respect to the characteristics of a Chancellor, they are available on their site and have been referenced by myself and others on several occasions. No need to be repetitive.
“If the faculty and students spent as much effort in teaching and studying, UNBC would be #1 in all areas”
They are!!! The entire University, especially some of the early people involved who laid the very foundation of principles for the university have been fighting the battle to be first in the category they are measured in.
To say that they do not work on that effort is condescending. In fact, they are trying to defend the very foundation the University was built on that got them to where they are.
The only claim to fame that Moore has is that he is a grad of the University. When compared to the other Chancellors he is clearly at the bottom of the list. When compared to the current one, he has none of the attributes.
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