VANCOUVER — Arvind Gupta resigned Friday as president of the University of British Columbia after just a year on the job.

The university’s board of governors announced Friday that Gupta will return to his academic career in UBC’s department of computer science. He was installed as the 13th president of the university last September for a five-year term.

No reason was given for Gupta’s resignation. But when pressed, UBC board of governors’ chairman John Montalbano said Gupta’s reasons were “personal” and “in the best interest of his family, himself and the university.”

Montalbano described Gupta’s resignation as a surprise and “regrettable.

“I want to take this time to thank Dr. Gupta for his service to the university community over the past year and acknowledge his hard work, integrity, and dedication,” Montalbano said. “Dr. Gupta worked tirelessly during his tenure to advance UBC’s core academic mission.”

Gupta improved student services, such as access to mental health support, developed a strategy to support diversity on campus and raised more than $200 million for the university, Montalbano said.

Gupta was known for making partnerships with the private sector. He was previously CEO of Mitacs, a UBC-based national not-for-profit organization that brings industry and business together with academia.

Under his leadership, three vice-presidents left their positions, including the provost and academic vice-president, the vice-president of finance and the vice-president of communications and community partnerships.

Montalbano said none of those things were related to Gupta’s decision to resign as president.

Gupta declined to comment Friday, saying the news release should speak for itself. Gupta wasn’t quoted in the announcement, which UBC’s managing director of public affairs Susan Danard said was his choice.

Gupta was hired from within after an international search by a 22-member committee of faculty, staff, students, alumni and others that began in September 2013. He has three daughters — two of whom attend UBC — and is married to family physician Michelle Pereira.

In April, a body was found near the family’s home on the university grounds, while Gupta was out of the country on university business.

Martha Piper, UBC’s president from 1997 to 2006, will be interim president from September 1 to June 30, 2016 while the university searches for a new leader. Piper is on the boards of the Bank of Montreal, CARE Canada, the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education and the Canadian Stem Cell Foundation.

“I am very pleased to welcome back such a passionate supporter of UBC with a deep commitment to academic excellence,” UBC chancellor Lindsay Gordon said in a news release. “Dr. Piper’s considerable experience during her time as UBC president and the years beyond will be invaluable during this time of transition.”

UBC’s board of governors includes 11 community members appointed by the province, three elected students, three elected faculty members and two elected staff members, plus the president and the chancellor. Gupta’s resignation was announced after the board held a closed, unscheduled meeting Friday. The meeting’s minutes are not public, Danard said.

UBC has more than 58,000 students and 15,000 faculty and staff. Its annual budget is $2.2 billion.

Sun Education Reporter

tsherlock@vancouversun.com

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