Former UBC president Arvind Gupta says he regrets resigning

Former University of British Columbia president Arvind Gupta said he regrets his sudden resignation last summer and wishes he had pushed back harder against complaints about his performance.

"I now regretresigningfrom the presidencyand not pushing back harder from the board," Gupta told CBC Radio The Early Edition's Rick Cluff Thursday morning. It was his first broadcast interview since his resignation.

"I often wonder if I had notresignedwhetherwonderfulscholarswe have like JenniferBerdahlwouldn't have had to go through what they went through," he said.

• Former UBCpresident Arvind Gupta responds to accidentally released documents.

Berdahl, a UBC professor,spoke out last summer about Gupta's resignation in a blog, writing that hehad lost a "masculinitycontest" with the school leadership. Later, she said UBC's chair of the board of governors, John Montalbanoattempted to gag her by calling to complain about the post.

Montalbano later resigned after an internal report concluded the university failed in its obligations to protectBerdahl's academic freedom.

Gupta said thathe supportsthe academic freedom of professors. In fact, hewanted them to "standup and take control, torun theuniversity."

"They are on the ground. They'retalkingwith the students. They're talking to other stakeholders. They know the reality of the situation."

'I did not have their confidence'

Gupta said that hewondered in hindsight if it would have been better"totake on these issues at the front end and not let things devolve the way they did."

He said the decision to resign waspainful, adding he had hoped to transform UBC into a "truly 21st century university" when he took on the job.

He said he was never a "career administrator" and hadhoped to create a university that was"well connected tothe community, that is part of thecommunity,that ourstudents' education is going to be a partnership with the wonderful things that are happening in oursociety."

He was surprised to learn the board did not support him, saying he had positive feedback from professors.Instead, he said he learned late last summer that an ad hoc committee of the board had met and decided that "I did not have their confidence."

"Ifelt I was being put between a rock and a hard place. Howdo youmanoeuvrewhen what you are hearing is so different from what Iam being told?"

Gupta said there was no opportunity for him to speak to the board about their concerns.

'No choice but to resign'

"It was a very painful decision, but at that point I decided that I had no choice but to resign."

Gupta's interview follows the mistaken release of unredacted documents related to his departure from the university.

Thosedocuments revealeda growing rift between UBC's board of governors and Gupta in the months ahead of the then-president's sudden resignation.

Gupta saidhefelt "compelled" to comment on the documents following their release. He also released a written statement on Wednesday before speaking to CBC.

UBC faculty call for review of board

The UBC Faculty Association released a statement Thursday afternoon lambasting the board of governors for its lack of transparency and accountability in the affair, and calling for an independent investigation.

"Given the events that have unfolded thus far and the information that has been revealed, we believe it is time for an external review of the UBC Board and its practices," the statement read.

"Such a review should be an open process that engages fully the faculty, students, staff, and alumni."

To listen to the full audio, click the link labelled:Arvind Gupta speaks out about UBC resignation.