40 BCBusiness NOVEMBER 2015
t was a perfect summer
storm. Arvind Gupta, a math-
ematician and professor of
computer science, was 13
months into a ˆve-year man-
date as
UBC's president. Then,
on August 7, a hot and sunny
Friday, the university's board
of governors "regretfully
announced" that Gupta had
"resigned to return to the pur-
suit of his academic career."
There was no further
explanation for the depar-
ture—just the usual media
relations bromides applaud-
ing Gupta's "hard work,
integrity, and dedication."
The board of governors
pleaded nondisclosure, while
Gupta, who will receive his
$446,750 president's salary
next year on academic leave
from
UBC, also remained
silent. The international
executive search—which
UBC
public a¥airs says came in at
How to ... admit you picked the wrong leader
after two iconic B.c. institutions struggled to explain unexpected leadership changes this
summer, some ideas on how they could have done things differently by Roberta Staley
