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MacKinnon, a former faculty association chair, dean of law and president of the universities of Saskatchewan and Athabasca, believes institutes of higher education are no longer debating over mere “differences.” They’re fracturing, with ominous implications for their traditional role as forums for discussion and collaboration.

The mission of the university – which MacKinnon says is “seeking truth through advancing knowledge, learning and discovery” ­– is endangered. Too many righteous academics and students are not willing to tolerate debate over important ideas, “even while contestation is inevitable, indeed, definitional, and with it comes unease, discomfort and dissent.”

The wide-ranging book opens with the resignation of former UBC president Arvind Gupta, followed by Jennifer Berdahl’s denunciation of the UBC board of governors, including chair John Montalbano. “She accused Montalbano and the board of three damning isms of modern discourse: racism, sexism and lookism.”

Specifically, MacKinnon said Berdahl, whose chair had been funded by Montalbano, had opined on her blog, without evidence, that Gupta resigned because he “’lost the masculinity contest,’ ‘wasn’t tall or physically imposing’ and was the ‘first brown man to be the university’s president.’”

The board and Montalbano, however, could not publicly respond to the unfounded claims, MacKinnon said, even while UBC’s faculty association called for release of the “full story.” Media voices joined in and Montalbano – who had privately phoned Berdahl, whom he considered a friend, to discuss her allegations – stepped down to defuse the situation. He and the board had been silenced by a demand for confidentiality.