The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

UNIVERSITY of The Bahamas announced yesterday that Dr Erik Rolland, a high-ranking official at the California Polytechnic and State University, has been named the institution’s next president after a lengthy search and selection process - prompting discontent from university staff union members.

UB board chair Allyson Maynard-Gibson described Dr Rolland as the most capable, qualified and suitable candidate to lead the university.

She emphasised his fundraising experience and his anticipated role leading the institution toward coveted international accreditation.

 UB’s board of trustees named Dr Rolland president despite staunch opposition from the college’s faculty and staff who preferred Dr Ian Strachan, the only Bahamian shortlisted for the role.

 Daniel Thompson, president of the Union of Tertiary Educators of the Bahamas (UTEB), said yesterday the union will not “close the institution down” over the board’s decision but suggested discontent with the choice means Dr Rolland could find it difficult getting buy-in from stakeholders as he seeks to implement his agenda.

 UB announced last July that the presidential search committee, which was appointed in November 2020, shortlisted Dr Rolland, Dr Strachan and Sir Anthony Seldon for president. The university took months to announce the choice, sparking speculation that the board was anxious about how and when to reveal it chose a non-Bahamian for the prominent role. Anthropologist Dr Nicolette Bethel became a prominent critic of the stalled announcement, writing that it would be a “grave insult” to appoint a non-Bahamian to the position.

 Mrs Maynard-Gibson said yesterday the presidential search was comprehensive and involved dialogue with faculty, staff, students, alumni and stakeholders.

 She said UB’s current board “operated with the highest integrity, compelled by a strong commitment to the fiduciary responsibilities under the University of the Bahamas Act” as it scrutinised finalists.

 “The next president has the qualifications, experience and skills to meet mission critical objectives, namely, the knowledge, insights and experience to achieve international accreditation; the vision and competence to implement sustainable financial and operational models for fundraising and the capability to integrate 21st century technology modalities throughout the institution,” she said at a press conference.

 She added that a succession plan will be implemented to ensure several people will be qualified to succeed Dr Rolland within a reasonable time.

 Dr Rolland’s appointment takes effect in August. He currently serves as Dean of the College of Business Administration, interim Dean of the College of the Extended University, Chief International Officer and the Provost’s Associate for Strategic Transformation at California Polytechnic and State University. Mrs Maynard-Gibson said he successfully steered the accreditation process at “another higher institution.”

 “Growing our university also means developing a dynamic and robust engagement strategy,” she said. “Dr Rolland has successfully forged collaborations with key economic partners, particularly those which have fuelled venture capital pursuits as a feeder for entrepreneurship and sharing knowledge of best practices. Leveraging his expertise and networks will create further opportunities for the exposure and engagement of our students with industry leaders around the world.”

 Mrs Maynard-Gibson said the board will make a later announcement about the post of executive vice president, which is currently filled by Dr Sarim Al-Zubaidy, a New Zealander.

 Amid speculation that Dr Strachan will replace Dr Al-Zubaidy in that role, Mrs Maynard-Gibson said: “What I will say is it is an incorrect assumption that both the president and the vice president will be non-Bahamian.”

 Mr Thompson, meanwhile, was unimpressed by descriptions of Dr Rolland’s qualifications and experience, emphasising that the institution has a history of appointing foreigners with impressive resumes who were unable to translate their experience into the Bahamian context.

 “We believe the board of trustees made a grave mistake in overlooking the Bahamian finalist, candidate Dr Ian Strachan, in favour of Dr Rolland, but time will tell,” Mr Thompson said. “The unions are sort of constrained in their reaction in that the board of trustees chair did reach out to all the unions and engaged in dialogue with us so the process was transparent and in that regard we are constrained to accept the decision of the board, but we are still at liberty to express our opposition to the choice.”

 Noting The Bahamas will celebrate its 50th independence anniversary this year, Mr Thompson said it appears “being a Bahamian is a disadvantage for people looking to head the country’s premier tertiary institution.”

 “It isn’t a matter of qualifications because all three of the candidates qualify, so we’re not saying choose the Bahamian because he’s a Bahamian,” he said. “We’re saying he is a qualified person and if you have three qualified persons and one of them is a Bahamian, we do not apologise that that Bahamian ought to be given the first choice.”

 Mr Thompson said it will likely take Dr Rolland some time to adjust to Bahamian culture, adding that his fundraising plans might work in a North American context, but might not work for The Bahamas.

 “That’s very important,” he said. “You bring them to The Bahamas and they realise that hey, suddenly our taxation system is different and this is a different territory and so they must go and learn the whole process of how to advance their agenda within this culture, wasting time.

 “He’s not the first foreign president we’ve had. We had Betsy Boze, we had Hodder and now we have Dr Smith (a Bahamian) who came in with a lot of international experience, a lot of fundraising credentials in his background but where are we as a university? He’s not the first one that comes in and says I raised millions and millions in this context. You superimposed them on this country and oh, it’s a different structure, it’s a different thing and so we are not excited to hear that you raised millions in California. We’re now in The Bahamas. Obviously the foreign elements didn’t do it for us in the past as advertised, so you’re asking me what confidence I have in Dr Rolland’s ability to raise millions like he purported to have done in North America? I have no confidence at all.”

 Photo: Patrick Hanna/BIS, other photo from Cal Poly website