What should be a happy day for Abertay University, as more than 1000 of its students graduate, has been overshadowed by a row over Bernard King.
A professor has called for the chairman of the university court to quit.
Philippe Baveye claimed staff are “distressed at the chaos, bad press and level of uncertainty that have affected the university over the last five months.”
In an email to chairman Nigel Hawkins he said the court bore a “huge responsibility” for the crisis over Professor King, who was principal for 19 years.
Abertay insists Professor King retired last Friday, but he refuses to accept this and is threatening a to take the university to a tribunal.
Professor Baveye, the chairman of soil ecosystem modelling, has told Mr Hawkins his conduct is “unacceptable” and he should stand down immediately.
The university rejected the professor’s “intemperate and inflammatory language” and denied his allegations.
It has also claimed his views are not shared by most staff and that the court has been working hard to prepare the university for the future.
The target of Professor Baveye’s ire is the former chief executive of conservation charity, the John Muir Trust.
Mr Hawkins is also a former president of Dundee and Tayside chamber of commerce.
He has been a university fellow since 1998 and served as convener of the estates and campus services committee and court vice-chairman before taking the top spot.Power intrigueThe professor wrote, “I don’t want to dwell on the power intrigue within the leadership team at Abertay that emerged last summer and autumn and eventually fuelled the current crisis.”
The professor said, “It is very regrettable that common sense and collegiality did not prevail at Abertay, that egos got in the way and that the situation escalated to the level of a serious leadership crisis.”
He argued that the court was wrong to “intervene directly in the feud among top administrators”, especially as most members were not from an academic background and would have “second-hand and fragmentary” knowledge of academic life.
Professor Baveye said, “Pretty much every single aspect of the crisis has been mishandled by court, in the worst possible way.
“That a man of Bernard King’s stature and national standing could be suspended without a single word of explanation to anyone is just incredible, and has caused immense damage to Abertay’s reputation and credibility.”
He added, “Court has met a number of times since January, never finding it necessary to make any statement after any of them. Senior professors like me have been systematically kept in the dark.”
He also claimed that the university has spent £500,000 in legal and administrative costs over the affair, which also saw Professor Nicholas Terry suspended before being reinstated and made acting principal.
Professor Baveye called for Professor King to be reinstated immediately and added he was sure that “everyone in the university administration is sick and tired of the toxic atmosphere of this past year.”
A spokesman called Professor Baveye “highly respected and valued,” adding. “However, the email does contain numerous misrepresentations, misleading statements and serious allegations, which we reject utterly.”
The spokesman said Professor Baveye spent only a quarter of his time at Abertay and might not be as aware of developments as his colleagues.
He said, “In particular, we strongly reject Professor Baveye’s claims as to the climate within Abertay and his ill-informed allegations regarding the competence of court.”
Abertay will hold its graduation ceremony today at Caird Hall, including the awarding of honorary degrees to Jethro Tull singer Ian Anderson and NASA astronaut Alvin Drew.