The Academic Board of the University of Guyana has refused the resignation of Professor Compton Bourne as Chancellor the tertiary institution and they want the "committed and sympathetic officer" to return.

The UGSSA and UGWU have been highly critical of Professor Bourne, saying that he had ignored their repeated requests to discuss their numerous grievances. They include paltry salaries compared to the rest of the Caribbean, poor teaching-learning physical infrastructure such as laboratories and the politicization of the University Council.

The Board's decision is expected to be communicated to Bourne later Wednesday, according to well-placed sources.

“The Academic Board notes that Chancellor Bourne’s statement of resignation was addressed to the Council, which is not now in session and which has not had the opportunity to consider it. In fact, the Board urges the Council not to accept the resignation when next it meets.

The Board also hopes that within this period, the Chancellor will be prevailed upon to reconsider his decision in the best interest of the University and his country. In these same interests, he is assured of Academic Board’s strongest commitment and support,” says the Academic Board.

That was communicated to UGSSA Chairman Dr Patsy Francis who is a member of the board.  The Academic Board is the second highest decision-making body after the Council. The life of the council has expired and a new one has not been appointed by government. Francis said she was unaware of such a decision because she left the meeting before it concluded.

Bourne's resignation was tendered after the council expired on June 30 and so that body did not get to consider it.

In the absence of a Chancellor and a substantive Vice Chancellor, sources say the Pro Chancellor Dr. Prem Misir can assume a more prominent role in managing the affairs of the University of Guyana.

In apparent reference to harsh criticisms of Bourne by the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) and the University of Guyana Workers Union (UGWU), the Board said those views were not supported by the majority of academics whom it represents.

The university organ said the Academic Board supports the position taken by the UG Committee of Deans and the Senior Administrative Group in their immediate press release in response to the first call for Chancellor Bourne’s resignation.

“The Academic Board expressed a profound sense of concern at his resignation and deep regret over the circumstances that precipitated it,” said the Chairman of the Academic Board.

The Board credited Bourne with several achievements as Chancellor over the last three years including his search for a new Vice Chancellor to replace Trinidad and Tobago national, Professor Lawrence Carrington who did not seek the renewal of his contract. “The Chancellor’s departure from this process could now seriously set back the search for a suitable Vice-Chancellor,” the Academic Board said.

Bourne, a former President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), was also hailed by the Academic Board for his initiatives in a current project to enhance the regulatory framework and operational procedures, systems and structures at the University, and the successful sourcing of considerable funding from the CDB for its implementation.

Chancellor Bourne, according to the Board, had also recently led the process which eventually resulted in the re-appointment of the Registrar, and was leading the search for a Vice-Chancellor with the full involvement of the University Council and academic community in a manner that met the community’s approval.

The Board also noted that Professor Bourne had spent an n unprecedented amount of time working on behalf of the UG both on and off campus, in and out of Guyana;  attendance at practically every University meeting, function and ceremony at which his presence and participation were required, and chairing all meetings of the University Council.

Chancellor Bourne worked closely with Prof. Lawrence Carrington on many projects both internally and externally including a number of initiatives towards regulatory improvements, says the UG Academic Board.

According to the Board, they worked assiduously to accelerate change at the University of Guyana. Through those efforts the frequency of meetings of the Council was effectively regulated and in their conduct returned closer to the spirit of what is written in the University’s Statutes. Notwithstanding the critical financial situation that the institution faced and still faces, this allowed the University’s administrators to more effectively take charge of the management of UG, added the acting Vice Chancellor in the statement on behalf of the Academic Board.