Politicians won't pick next Memorial president, board head says

Newfoundland and Labrador's education minister will not be involved in selecting Memorial University's next president, the chair of the university's board of regents said Thursday.

Bob Simmonds, a high-profile lawyer who last fall took the reins of the board after months of controversy over Education Minister Joan Burke's decision to veto finalists during a search for a new president, told reporters he would quit if government vetoes the choice of the selection committee.

Burke and the provincial government came under fire last summer when she admitted that she had not only interviewed the top two candidates for the president's job, but also told the board that neither was acceptable.

"Ah, no — the minister of education will not be involved in interviews," Simmonds told reporters in St. John's.

Burke's revelation last year drew stinging criticism from academic groups across the country, with many critics accusing the government of curbing academic freedom or even with wanting to install a candidate who would do the government's bidding.

Simmonds said while government will be welcome to make suggestions at the beginning of the process, it will be expected to bow out.

"I would hope that we find a candidate with backbone, spirit, ability, knowledge — all of the things required to say, 'I know I'm walking into a situation that perhaps will have difficulties,'" Simmonds said.

"Frictions between governments and universities, they exist, they're systemic. They are always there and always will be, and are not necessarily a bad thing."

Memorial receives the majority of its funding from the provincial government.

Candidate needs cabinet approval

Simmonds, who managed Finance Minister Jerome Kennedy's last campaign, said a new search committee will be formed to find the next president for the university, and that it will be assisted by a professional head-hunting firm.

He said the committee will be open and provide regular updates on its process.

Once the committee picks a candidate, it will present that person to the board of regents and then to the provincial cabinet for final approval. The provincial act governing the university gives cabinet that right of approval, although in the past it has largely been a symbolic measure.

Simmonds said the search could take between six and 10 months to complete.