UBC Professor Claims Administrators Attempted to Silence Her

A University of British Columbia professor claims that administrators tried to gag her for writing an online blog post about former UBC president Arvind Gupta.

Jennifer Berdahl believes that Gupta resigned from his position, after a year in office, because he lost the “masculinity contest” among the leaders at UBC.

“I do not claim to know the ins and outs of this unfortunate outcome. UBC either failed in selecting, or in supporting, him as president,” said Berdahl on her blog.

“President Gupta was the first brown man to be UBC president. He isn't tall or physically imposing. He advocates for women and visible minorities in leadership – a stance that has been empirically demonstrated to hurt men at work,” Berdahl goes on to say. “I had the pleasure of speaking with him on this topic to UBC alumni in Calgary and Toronto, and it was clear that he is convinced of the need to bring and keep all forms of talent into the Canadian workplace, no matter its size, style, or packaging.”

Berdahl is Montalbano Professor of Leadership Studies: Gender and Diversity at the University of British Columbia and called Gupta a humble leader. She described him as one who listens to arguments and weighs their logic and information instead of displaying and rewarding bravado or proxy for competence.

“When work is a masculinity contest, leadership does not earnestly seek expert input, express self-doubt, or empower low-status voices,” Berdahl added. “Instead, those who rise to positions of leadership have won the contest of who can seem most certain and overrule or ignore divergent opinions.”

The professor’s stance that Gupta was bullied out of his position has garnered her lots of attention and prompted Berdahl to write a follow up piece to her original blog post.

Arvind Gupta resigned from his position stating a return to academia (Photo Credit: UBC)

“As someone who studies a controversial subject, it is inevitable that some of the things I have to say will upset some people, perhaps especially those who have risen to power in current systems,”Berdahl states in her second blog piece. “But as a faculty member I have always felt safe, and indeed obligated, to exercise my right to academic free speech.”

Shortly after writing the initial piece, Berdahl says she received a phone call from the Chair of the UBC Board of Governors, John Montalbano, in which he told her that her blog post was "incredibly hurtful, inaccurate, and greatly unfair to the Board” and “greatly and grossly embarrassing to the Board."

“He said I had made him ‘look like a hypocrite.’ He said my post would cause others to question my academic credibility,” writes Berdahl. “He repeatedly mentioned having conversations with my Dean about it. He also repeatedly brought up RBC, which funds my outreach activities, to say that people there were on 'damage control' should the media pick up on this.”

Later that same afternoon, Berdahl says she was called by her division chair to be notified that the Associate Dean of Faculty wished to speak to her. She was instructed to call Sauder’s Associate Director of Communications and Media Relations to get advice on how to handle likely media inquiries to “minimize” engagement and the impact of the blog post. The university has yet to publically comment on the situation.

“I have never in my life felt more institutional pressure to be silent,” stated Berdahl.

“The next morning I received a request to meet alone with my Dean. The meeting was rescheduled to include the Associate Dean of Equity and Diversity who had scolded me at the reception. When I informed my Dean that I would be bringing representation, he cancelled the meeting,” writes Berdahl. “As someone whose first faculty appointment was where the free speech movement began – the University of California, Berkeley – I am simply stunned by this behavior on the part of the leadership at this university. I have never felt more gagged or threatened after expressing scholarly viewpoints and analysis of current events. I am a full professor. Even if the university’s leadership doesn’t recognize it, I have a right to academic freedom and expression, free of intimidation and harassment. I cannot be fired for exercising this right.”

On Monday a meeting took place with several board members from the university behind closed doors. The details of that meeting have not yet been released.