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The chair of the Board of Governors at UBC has stepped down temporarily as the university investigates allegations that he improperly handled an ongoing situation at the school.
On Tuesday, the Board of Governors accepted a request from John Montalbano to step aside as the investigation takes place. Vice-Chair, Alice Laberge, will assume duties for the duration of the ‘Fact Finding Process’ conducted by the school.
“Mr. Montalbano intends to fully participate in the process that will be undertaken by the Honourable Lynn Smith, Q.C. and wants to ensure the integrity of the process is not hindered by his performing the duties of Chair,” said the board in a statement.
The decision comes following the boards call for Montalbano to resign for his actions following the public statement issued by a professor and the resignation of the school’s president.
Professor Jennifer Berdahl accused the school of using bullying tactics to force the resignation of former President Arvind Gupta. According to the board, Montalbano decided to sidestep standard protocols for handling grievances by posting a formal University media release to the UBC website. By doing so, the UBCFA says Montalbano “confused personal interests with the University’s interests.” The media release has since been removed from the website.
Laberge has agreed to assume the duties of Acting Chair of the Board, Montalbano will continue as a board member during the investigation.
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