University of Saskatchewan administration did not violate the University of Saskatchewan Act when an outspoken tenured professor was fired last week, the school’s board of governors announced in the early-morning hours of Tuesday after more than four hours of debate at an emergency meeting.

Shortly before 1 a.m., U of S board chair Susan Milburn said in a statement that the board of governors did “not want to act in haste and therefore we have not made any final decisions, other than to maintain our strong commitment to financial sustainability and renewal.

“We will conclude our due diligence before a decision is rendered on university leadership ... The board believes it is in compliance with the University of Saskatchewan Act."

She said the board will continue discussing the issue at the next board meeting scheduled for May 26-27.

"We've got a lot of work to do to restore the reputation of the university, that is everyone's responsibility," said Milburn.

She did not say whether or not this process would mark the end of the TransformUS initiative.

"We have to think about whether what happened this week is actually a TransformUS issue or not so we'll think that through a bit," said Milburn.

Though further discussion will take place, one high-profile member of the U of S administration stepped down before the hours of debate Monday night and Tuesday morning: provost Brett Fairbairn, who controversially fired Robert Buckingham last week, tendered his resignation.

“My motive for offering my resignation is my genuine interest in the well-being of the University of Saskatchewan," Fairbairn said in a letter to university president Ilene Busch-Vishniac.

"I believe the work I have done as a student, faculty member, and provost has contributed to the growth of our university’s reputation. The same interests lead me to offer stepping aside from the provost role as the best contribution I can now offer under present circumstances.”

News of Fairbairn's resignation came minutes before the university board of governors convened an emergency meeting to determine what steps to take after university administration fired and then reinstated an outspoken tenured professor last week.

The meeting, which was not open to the public, began at 8 p.m.

On May 14, Fairbairn fired Robert Buckingham, a tenured professor and now-former executive director of the university’s school of public health, for writing a letter to the provincial government and Opposition criticizing the institution’s controversial TransformUS cost-cutting plan.

Politicians, students, faculty, alumni and the Canadian Association of University Teachers immediately blasted the decision, saying the U of S was suppressing Buckingham’s right to academic freedom.

The next day, university president Busch-Vishniac partially reversed the decision, saying the university administration “blundered” when it stripped Buckingham of his tenure. She affirmed the university’s support of academic freedom, but said leaders are expected to publicly support administrative decisions once they are made. Buckingham, who remained booted from his leadership role, was invited to return as a professor. He said he is still considering the offer.

Amid the international outrage surrounding the events, Advanced Education Minister Rob Norris asked U of S board chair Susan Milburn to call an emergency meeting to determine whether administration broke the University of Saskatchewan Act, which dictates how the institution is to be governed and outlines the university’s commitment to academic freedom.