In 2001, geography professor George Nader was denied reappointment as principal of Trent University’s Peter Robinson College, despite a strong recommendation from the senate-appointed search committee.

The issue of his reappointment came in the midst of a hotly-contested decision of Trent’s board of governors to close two colleges, including Peter Robinson. Nader was an outspoken advocate for keeping his college open and challenged the financial rationale for closure. For this he received a reprimand from the vice-president academic for “making statements to the public media, purportedly in your role as Principal, that must be recognized as detrimental to the well-being of the university.” Many felt Nader’s opposition to the board decision was the reason he was not reappointed.

For CAUT, this raised the question of the extent to which academic administrators should have academic freedom. William Bruneau, emeritus professor of educational studies at the University of British Columbia, and Tim Quigley, professor of law at the University of Saskatchewan, were appointed members of an ad hoc investigatory committee to examine and report on this issue. Their report can be found in the April 2007 print edition of the Bulletin. An Acrobat .pdf version of this report will be available shortly.