Saskatoon university’s reputation factor in president’s firing: board chairwoman

SASKATOON – The board chairwoman at the University of Saskatchewan says the school’s reputation was a key consideration in the termination of its president.

Susan Milburn says a number of factors went into the decision, but fallout over the recent firing of a tenured professor didn’t help.

President and vice-chancellor Ilene Busch-Vishniac was let got Wednesday night without cause and effective immediately.

Former lieutenant governor Gordon Barnhart becomes the university’s acting president.

Busch-Vishniac was the target of vocal criticism after Prof. Robert Buckingham was fired as the head of the School of Public Health for speaking out about budget cuts.

The president admitted a few days later that the university had blundered in its handling of Buckingham.

(CKOM)