Steven Galloway has been fired by the University of British Columbia after facing "serious allegations of misconduct."
Galloway, an acclaimed author, was a tenured associate professor and the chair of UBC’s creative writing program. He was first suspended with pay in November of 2015 after UBC received serious allegations of misconduct against Galloway. According to a written statement released by the VP External Relations Philip Steenkamp, more complaints were received throughout November and December of 2015.
On November 20, 2015 the Honourable Mary Ellen Boyd, a former justice of the BC Supreme Court, was engaged to conduct an investigation. Her report was given to the Dean of Arts —Dr. Gage Averill — on April 25, 2016.
When Dean Averill reviewed the report with Galloway, Galloway did not dispute any of the critical findings. Allegations in addition to those considered by Boyd were also taken into account.
President Piper met with Galloway, reviewed Dean Averill's recommendations and the investigative findings of the Honourable Mary Ellen Boyd before coming to a decision.
"The President concluded that there was a record of misconduct that resulted in an irreparable breach of the trust placed in faculty members by the university, its students and the general public," said Steenkamp.
After Piper made her recommendation to the Board of Governors on Tuesday June 21, Galloway was fired.
However, Mark Mac Lean, the president of the faculty association, has issued a statement citing serious concerns with the "University Administration's misleading public and private comments regarding Professor Galloway."
"We wish to clarify that all but one of the allegations, including the most serious allegation, investigated by the Honourable Mary Ellen Boyd were not substantiated," said Mac Lean in a written statement.
The faculty association will not be commenting further on the matter at this time out of respect for the "fair and due process," which is ongoing.
UBC is currently not responding to the statement.
"We have a relationship with the UBC Faculty Association, and will respond to their concerns directly with them," said UBC managing director of public relations, Susan Danard, in an email to The Ubyssey.
No further information is available on the nature of the allegations due to legal and privacy constraints.
"The university acknowledges the community’s need for information and assurance that its processes have been applied fairly. At the same time, the university must balance the need to respect the personal privacy of both complainants and respondents and to provide them with a safe space in which to bring forward their concerns and perspectives,” said Steenkamp in a written statement.