A University of Saskatchewan dean who spoke out about the university’s efforts to muzzle senior administrators has been fired, stripped of his tenure, had his retirement benefits revoked and was escorted off campus by security.

Robert Buckingham, former executive director of the University of Saskatchewan’s School of Public Health, was dismissed from both his role as the executive director of the school of public health and a tenured professor Wednesday morning because of a letter he wrote in which he detailed efforts to keep senior leaders in line over a new plan to cut spending and potentially merge his department with another.

“I always thought, of any place, freedom of speech would be at a university,” Buckingham told the Star from Saskatoon. “I’ve learned differently.”

Janice MacKinnon, a professor in the school and former minister of finance for the province, says the decision casts a shadow over free speech at the University of Saskatchewan, but also potentially across the nation.

“What’s happening here is really, really concerning. It should be a concern to academics right across Canada. Not only did they fire him from his administrative position, they’re also trying to strip him of his academic position as a tenured professor and they’re doing it because they didn’t like what he wrote,” said MacKinnon.

On Tuesday, Buckingham released a letter to politicians Tuesday with the title, “The Silence of the Deans.” In it he explained his issues with TransformUS, a restructuring plan at the university, and detailed efforts by the administration to ensure that senior leaders toe the institution’s line. He said he was warned against discussing any of the proposals publicly.

“Deans were also told that when the final recommendations were released we had to support them with faculty, students and the public, even if we disagreed with them,” wrote Buckingham in the letter, which received media coverage after political parties released it.

As part of TransformUS, a plan to cut millions in spending, the university sought to place the School of Public Health under the umbrella of the College of Medicine — something Buckingham said could threaten the school’s hard-won accreditation from the Agency for Public Health Accreditation.

He was called into a meeting with Brett Fairbairn, the school’s provost and vice-president academic, around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday after the letter became public. He says Fairbairn said that Buckingham’s relationship with the university was “irreparably damaged” because of the letter and had two campus police officers escort him off the premises.

Fairbairn says the issue is not one of free speech but rather of the expectations that come with taking a leadership role. He said he would not discuss Buckingham’s firing directly.

“I don’t think that issues that have been talked about this week are really about freedom of speech or academic freedom. We have those things and they’re alive and well at the University of Saskatchewan,” said Fairbairn in an interview with the Star.

“I would say that when it comes to senior leaders in a university, it’s not different than leaders in any other non-profit organization, government, you name it. Deans are among our top few dozen senior leaders who shape and direct the whole institution and you can’t lead an organization and oppose it at the same time.”

Rein Lepnurm, a professor in the school of public health who has been at the University of Saskatchewan for 33 years, says they went too far. He described Buckingham as a widely respected boss who was praised for his inclusiveness and approach to leading the school.

“A few years ago he had a stellar performance appraisal from the person that fired him,” said Lepnurm.

“Now that he’s done this, okay, you may have to haul the guy in and rap his knuckles, but you don’t take a senior administrator with a security guard . . . and escort him off-campus like that. That’s just undignified and very demeaning.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Buckingham, who has been the school’s executive director for the past five years and is widely respected by the faculty, was just five weeks away from retirement.

He said Wednesday night that he is trying to find a lawyer to explore fighting the school’s move in court.