Inquiry report: Dr. Thakur
Posted Oct 29, 2010 06:15:36 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
An academic inquiry has found the man kicked out of the top job at the Balsillie School of International Affairs was misled.
The results of the inquiry into why Dr. Ramesh Thakur, a former United Nations diplomat, was removed as inaugural director at the Balsillie School, were released yesterday, says the Globe and Mail.
According to the report from Professor Len Findlay of the University of Saskatchewan, there was a conflict between Thakur and Balsillie’s Centre for International Governance Innovation.
Findlay says Thakur was “treated as an academic star” until he resisted CIGI’s intention to “sit at the table” in the school when academic matters were discussed, including what courses would be taught.
Dr. Thakur said the academic content of the Balsillie School should be up to the University of Waterloo, and Wilfrid Laurier University, which jointly run the Balsillie school, not CIGI.
The inquiry also claims the universities misled Thakur about their commitment to his directorship, and buckled under pressure from CIGI.
The report goes on to say Thakur’s academic freedom became increasingly vulnerable to threats from the outside, and complicity on the inside.
And that Thakur was unfairly treated in the months leading up to his dismissal as director of the Balsillie School.
The Globe reports the two universities say in a statement that they “strenuously” disagree with Findlay’s report, saying it is based “on a flawed and incomplete interpretation of the circumstances and rationale for the decisions.”
Neve Peric, CIGI vice-president of operations, tells the Globe, “Mr. Balsillie does not comment on matters he was not involved in, including Dr. Thakur’s dismissal.”
Thakur tells the Globe he felt exonerated by Prof. Findlay’s report, adding, “Had it been clear to me that the school was a wholly owned subsidiary of CIGI, I would never have taken the job.”
