Who is popular today?

Registrar of The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Dr Maurice Smith on Wednesday danced around questions raised by members of a parliamentary committee about the widely reported tensions between the two leaders of the 74-year-old regional institution.The registrar, who appeared at a meeting of the Human Resources and Social Development Committee to discuss the troubling 2020 governance report on the status and future of The UWI, said the issues of governance should not be conflated with management.Chancellor of The UWI Robert Bermudez commissioned an eight-member commission, headed by Sir Dennis Byron, in December 2018, to carry out the review, and a report was subsequently tabled in Parliament on June 1, 2021.Since then allegations have been circulating of a conflict between the ceremonial head of the university, Bermudez, and recently re-elected Vice-Chancellor Sir Hillary Beckles, who is the principal academic and administrative officer of the university."I'm not able to confirm, indicate, or deny whether or not there is dissonance between the two leaders of the university. This is a complex organisation, it has been around for seven decades, and we review our constitutional framework to ensure that the institution is agile, and efficient... there are divergent as well as diverse views with respect to the findings (and) the methodology. Council is still deliberating and a decision will be made in the next couple of weeks as it concerns the recommendations that are before us," Smith told the committee.According to local and regional media reports, Beckles appointed a committee to investigate Bermudez's actions as it relates to his appointment.But Smith pointed out that those reports did not emanate from The UWI, and he was not able to "commend or commiserate with our colleagues who would have put those articles out".The registrar said the vice-chancellor had set up the committee for the purpose of examining the processes related to Beckles' appointment. "He had in fact shared that information with the council when it met in July 2021. It's not the outcome that was before the committee; it's whether or not the established processes were observed," added Smith.There have been whispers about racial undercurrents, and that some governments had not been in favour of Beckles' reappointment last April as vice-chancellor. Reports are that at its annual meeting on April 30, the council approved the renewal of Beckles' contract, ignoring objections from two member countries - Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.Responding to questions from committee member Dr Morais Guy about comments in the report about the chancellor's powers to nominate persons to the council, Smith reminded that the commission is the chancellor's creation. He argued that the recommendation made is that the nominees and other members of the governing body have particular skill sets and specific terms of reference."The commission is not recommending that the members be deballed but that there be specific terms of reference with respect to skill set to ensure there is not a focus on numbers and quantity, but more so representation from all the faculties and departments," he said. The council is the university's primary governing body.The governance report pointed to the absence of a formal process to identify and select the chancellor's nominees on the council, and that while there are established term limits for external nominees, many have had their membership repeatedly renewed, with a few serving continuously for 12 years or more. The commission said this possibly limits opportunities for broader external input into governance matters.The size and effectiveness of the council was also pinpointed. "It meets only once per year and is too large to carry out its functions effectively," the report said.The recommendation is that the council should be retained as a large assembly of stakeholders, and an executive committee of the council formed to carry out functions delegated by Council, while the council reserves certain functions.Smith stressed that the Mona campus is one of five, and the findings of the commission therefore pertains to all The UWI's campuses.The report, which has 95 recommendations, noted that the university's current financing model, where costs are shared between regional governments (80 per cent) and students (20 per cent), is not sustainable mainly due to the ongoing fiscal challenges faced by member countries, coupled with rising operating expenses, which have resulted in ballooning operational deficits. It said "The UWI appears to be heading towards financial exigency, which calls for rigorous restructuring in all segments of the institution to reduce operating costs, while pursuing feasible means of increasing revenues," and urged a combination of institutional re-engineering, substantive programme adjustments, and a structured cash conservation programme.