There has been a lot of speculation over the last two weeks regarding the abrupt departure of Concordia University’s president.
Judith Woodsworth, who resigned for personal reasons Dec. 22, according to a statement on Concordia’s website, has been a fixture at the university since 1980.
She was appointed president in 2008, but served just over two years of her five year term before leaving her post.
While the university maintains she resigned for personal reasons, the CBC and student newspaper The Concordian have cited anonymous university sources as saying she was fired.
The Concordia Student Union (CSU) initially raised concerns about this discrepancy, and its president called for more openness about the circumstances of Woodsworth’s departure.
“The university should ensure that a qualified replacement to Dr. Woodsworth is conducted in a way that so that something like this does not ever happen again, and that is by calling for a higher level of transparency,” said CSU president Heather Lucas.
University spokesperson Christine Mota maintained that Woodsworth did indeed leave for personal reasons.
“The statement that was issued is the statement that remains,” Mota said. “People will speculate and it is their right to do so.” She would not comment further on the CBC report.
She added the transition from one president to another should not affect the students in any way. Whoever replaces Woodsworth as the president of Concordia will be qualified for the position, she said.
An interim president will be named in January, according to the Concordian.
The search for a new president will begin when the Board of Governors meets in February and appoints a search committee which will be comprised of a selection their members.
Concordia has recently had difficulty retaining the people hired for the top job. Woodsworth’s predecessor, Claude Lajeunesse, also stayed in the job for only two years before resigning. Woodsworth said in a statement that she had enjoyed her job.
“It was an honour to have been recruited back to the university where I started my career 30 years ago, and to have served at its helm, if only for a short time,” she said.