So, as viewers may have noticed, when Frazer's letter became public, he sort of faded into the background, on a leave, where it was suggested that the board obliged him to make a pre-departure exit. In his absence, Dr. Wilma Wright, a holder of a Doctorate degree, took over as Acting President, leaving her post as Provost to run the University. That's been happening for over 4 months now, as we told you, Allan Slusher, will take over from her.
That appointment is in its final stages, and Slusher's work history is notable. He was a Governor of the Central Bank of Belize, the Region's Nominee at the World Bank, who served for 2 years, and he worked at Caribbean Development Bank for more than 15 years, where he retired as a vice president.
There is, however, one chink in the armor; he is only the holder of a Bachelor's Degree. When that announcement was made inside the University, it caused some protestations from the Faculty and Staff at UB who felt that an individual who does not hold a terminal degree shouldn't be the head of management. The reason was that there are persons who are employed currently, and who are believed to be more qualified than Slusher. There was also the suggestion that his appointment was going be done chiefly because influence of the political directorate. More than that, some faculty members viewed it as a possible vote of no-confidence of Dr. Wilma Wright's management so far.
Today, we asked Pilgrim about those perceptions, and he told us that they couldn't be further from the truth. He explained that Slusher's appointment as a temporary president is being done chiefly so that the business aspects of the University can be streamlined. Here's how he put it:
Harrison Pilgrim - President, Board of Trustees, UB
"Universities across the globe and in particular in North America which is an area that we tend to emulate a lot had been moving rapidly to put in business persons at the helm of their universities, persons who can attract the financing necessary for these institutions, who understand the ethics of business and development and proper management and good governance and all those things which today make for successful enterprise growth. The university is a business, it's a business in education and we feel that by having a strong business person to direct this transition period is going to auger well for creating the kind of atmosphere for a new president who will come in and not have to do all the mapping up, but would have had somebody in there who have done that type of stuff for him or her. We also believe that the office of the provost is one that is central to the academic development of the organization and certainly in the appointment of a provost, one would want to make sure that the person has a terminal because they will be directly interacting at that level. But we do not feel that the presidency of the university must necessarily hold a masters or any other terminal degree and we feel that the job can be done by somebody with Mr. Slusher's ability, with his attitude, he is a people friendly person, he is open to suggestions, he works with other. These are all things that we feel are so very important and we believe that he will get the support that he needs on the academic side and that in appointing him directly as president it leaves the post of vice president, director and all the key senior positions open for us to fill, perhaps even before a new president comes on stream, so that when that new person comes they can move and run straight on with the business of taking the university onto another level."
Reporter
"Sir you speak as though there are moves to make Slusher the head of the university - that there is this high probability that he will become the head of the university."
Harrison Pilgrim
"Sorry I didn't speak as if. I spoke with certainty that Allan Slusher is the designate replacement to be the president of the university barring unforeseen circumstances."
According to Pilgrim, Slusher's appointment, when it takes effect, is expected last for the next 2 years, and after that, the candidate identified by the panel of educational professionals will take over as the proper replacement.
Current Acting President, Dr. Wilma Wright, will revert back to her post as Provost, where the Board believes the technically skilled professional will be best utilized for her qualifications.
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