I have been a vocal critic of the appointment of Mr. James Moore as UNBC's next chancellor since his appointment was announced.
I will not rehash here all the valid reasons as to why this was an inappropriate choice. I will refer you to Neil Godbout's recent editorial, "UNBC deserves better than Moore," for the details.
Instead, I would like to make two points. The first point is especially relevant to Mr. Matheson, the chair of UNBC's Board of Governors. Since beginning my academic career at UNBC in July 2004, all previous chancellor appointments, to my knowledge, caused little to no upset or division among the UNBC community.
Mr. Matheson, this is the desired outcome and is evidence that an appropriate candidate was appointed as chancellor.
Contrast this desired and previously obtained outcome with what is going on right now with the appointment of Mr. Moore.
Of course there are supporters of his appointment, even among a few of the faculty. But it takes an impressive amount of willful blindness to not recognize the degree of upset and division Mr. Moore's appointment has caused among the UNBC community.
It is not just among some small, yet vocal, subset of the faculty, but is widespread among current students, alumni, the broader community of friends to UNBC, in addition to many, many faculty. Mr. Matheson this is not the desired outcome and is evidence that an inappropriate candidate was appointed as chancellor.
The second point speaks to Mr. Moore himself.
At present, there are only two options. Option No. 1 is that Mr. Moore fights for the chancellor position at all costs, thereby putting his personal interests above the best interests of the UNBC community.
Option No. 2 is that Mr. Moore removes his name as chancellor, putting the best interests of the UNBC community above his personal interests.
Mr. Moore, I strongly urge you to find the moral and intellectual courage to remove your name as chancellor of UNBC, demonstrating in concrete terms your stated high opinion of your alma mater.
Our next Senate meeting will be held on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. in the Senate Chambers. It is a public session, so all interested members of the public are invited to attend.
Paul Siakaluk
Prince George
