On October 25, John Field, Chair of the Advisory Committee on the Appointment of the President at Victoria University, issued a memorandum notifying the University community that the Board of Regents had initiated a review to appoint a new president of Victoria University. The current president of Victoria University, Dr. William Robins, took office in 2015. In an interview with The Strand, Victoria University Students’ Administrative Council (VUSAC) President Jerico Raguindin said that “President Robins [decided] to step down for personal reasons that I am unaware of,” adding that Victoria University would “have a new president by next year.”
Under Victoria University’s by-laws, the selection process for a new president requires a review of the University. Dr. Hugh Arnold, an Adjunct Professor of Management, has been appointed by Victoria University’s Board of Regents to conduct the review. The University’s memorandum stated that the review of the University “is intended to advise on the overall health of Victoria University, its mission, vision, current strategic priorities, and to identify the major opportunities and challenges facing the University.” When asked about the goals of the review, Arnold told The Strand that “the Review of Victoria University is being conducted in accordance with the University’s governance procedures.”
According to the University’s memorandum, Arnold will be “consulting widely with the Victoria University community” in his review of the school. When asked whether or not VUSAC was part of the review process, Raguindin told The Strand that “VUSAC is involved insofar as the VUSAC President is involved on the Board of Regents … otherwise, VUSAC is not directly involved.” However, Victoria University students are able to reach out and contribute to the review process by emailing the appointed reviewer at [email protected]. The six student representatives on the Board of Regents are also involved in the selection process, as is the firm Laverne Smith & Associates, which was announced in a letter to the Vic community on November 15. Students have been asked to fill out a questionnaire before November 29 regarding potential nominations.
At this time there is no publicly available information about who Victoria University’s Board of Regents might be selecting a new president from, and no sources have responded to The Strand for comment on the matter. When asked about the search for the new president, bursar and chief administrative officer at Victoria University Ray deSouza said that “the Board of Regents will be proceeding with its Presidential Search under the University’s governance procedures.”
Editor’s Note: Please note that this article has been updated to reflect that there are no statements available regarding the selection of candidates for this position.
