VANCOUVER – Arvind Gupta has resigned suddenly as the president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia after serving only short 17 months of a five year term.
“Dr. Gupta has made meaningful accomplishments in his tenure as president, but has decided he can best contribute to the university and lead Canada’s innovation agenda by resuming his academic career and leadership roles in the business and research community,” the university said in a news release Friday.
The university made the announcement Friday that Gupta has decided to step down from the position in favour of continuing the pursuit of his academic career and roles in the business and research community.
“I want to take this time to thank Dr. Gupta for his service to the university community over the past year and acknowledge his hard work, integrity, and dedication,” said UBC Board of Governors’ Chair John Montalbano in a statement.
Gupta began his position in July 2014, succeeding Stephen Toope who served the position for eight years.
Gupta rose not from the ranks of academia but from a long career in the private sector.
Before taking office, Gupta, a computer science professor and expert in innovation policy, was CEO of Mitacs, a non-profit organization that connects graduate students to business and industry through research.
The university’s announcement does not offer a detailed explanation for Dr. Gupta’s departure.
The release says Dr. Gupta will go on “academic leave” before returning to university in its computer science department.
Martha Piper, who was university president from 1997 to 2006, will return to the role for the next academic year beginning September 1, while the university searches for a permanent replacement.
