Board discussion turns heated
Board of directors candidates gathered to address important issues and introduce themselves to Laurier at the open forum yesterday, where debate turned heatedly towards sitting director Greg Evans.
Important issues of transparency, policy governance and communication initiatives were addressed through questions from the audience.
One contributed question exposed board candidates wishing to be appointed as chair for the coming year.
In the midst of discussion about strengthening ties between the Laurier population and the board of directors, current director and Brantford student Kayla Smith took to the microphone and posed her question directly to Evans.
Smith alleged that Evans had not taken his role in board meetings seriously.
She also claimed that he had “made several demeaning comments about the Brantford campus.”
Later, Evans said that any conversations he had with Smith about the Brantford campus had been in jest, adding that he attempts to take “a lighthearted but committed approach” to his role on the board of directors.
“These comments were never made in a serious or threatening way,” said Evans.
The claims were particularly contentious because Evans was one of three candidates to admit their hopes to run for chair of the board for 2010-11.
Current director Kyle Hocking was the first to make himself known as a potential candidate for the position. He said he hopes to take more of a leadership role next year in mentoring first-year board members.
“It’s important for the chair to really help all of the individual directors to accomplish their goals and that’s something I’d really like to have a hand in,” said Hocking.
For Evans, the occurrences of the open forum that he claimed “lacked proper judgment” could be detrimental to his campaign for the board.
However, Evans maintains that his character remains intact.
“I’m confident that other directors would never question my commitment to the board and to representing all Laurier students at each campus,” he concluded.