Last week Thursday, 7News told you about the press conference which the Board of Trustees of the University of Belize held to clear the air around the sudden departure of the President, Dr. Cary Frazer. He is expected to stay on until the end of this current school year, which ends May 2014, but during that time, the Board will be going through a rigorous process to find a suitable replacement for him. It sounds like a situation where relations between the board and Dr. Frazer could get strained, given that he has already complained to the Prime Minister in a letter that they've micromanaged the university, which he believes restricted his leadership. That question came up at the press conference where the chairman of the board addressed it directly. Here's how he responded:
Lynette Canto, Reporter LOVE FM
"The President as you said is still effective, his position is still in effect and we are wondering how as the board of the university - how that relationship will be maintained, if he has already effective his resignation and we know that it seems his heart as already left. How will you continue to work with him in the interim and what will this mean for the university?"
Harrison Pilgrim, Chair, Board of Trustees, UB
"That question was fielded by numerous members of faculty and staff at a briefing an hour ago. There is no crystal ball that I know about that I can look into to determine the future. At this point there are cordial relations existed. Going forward obviously there is going to be need for us to handle the matter with the level of sensitivity which I were to start talking about things now about what I would do ir what I wouldn't do would betray the confidence and the relationship that I presently have with the President and which this board would want to maintained throughout the tenure of his appointment."
"While we are here, the media, and we have come to talk to you about what we see as the way forward and the kinds of things that we are going to be looking for and giving you the assurance that this board has not just sat back and are awaiting things to happen. At the same time I would ask that you recognized the delicate nature of the discourse that we are presently in especially in light of the fact that the President is not here with us today although he was invited to participate in the event."
As we told you, in the letter to the Prime Minister, Dr. Frazer indicated that he had plans to develop the institution to meet the national needs for education, but the "chronic inability" of the Ministry of Education to meet its debts to UB signals the low level of priority that the Government has placed on the university. He adds that the budget negotiations for the 2013-2014 academic year does not give him confidence that the situation will change.
Apart from the micromanagement allegations which he brought against the Board, Dr. Frazer explained that having worked at tertiary institutions in Europe, the Caribbean and North America, he believes that the type of management that the Board of Trustees have used so far has caused leadership instabilities in relation to the posts of Provost and President.
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