University Senate members voted down separate motions of non-confidence in Western President Amit Chakma and Board of Governors’ Chair Chirag Shah at a specially called meeting Friday. Senators voted 30-49 with five abstentions against a motion of non-confidence in the president and 20-46 with 21 abstentions against a motion of non-confidence in Shah.
The 105-minute debate on the president featured one of the largest cross-sections of Senators publicly discussing a single subject in recent memory. Nearly two dozen speakers stood before a packed BMO Financial Group Auditorium in the Richard Ivey Building, including five of 22 Senators who called for the meeting, three bargaining unit heads, two deans, two Alumni Association presidents and a cross-section of faculty and students.
A motion to conduct the vote on the president by secret ballot and a second motion calling for it to be done by roll call were both defeated.
Perhaps a roll-call vote would have helped. The initial results of the Chakma vote were announced by the acting Senate chair as 39-49 with five abstentions. Given only 87 voting Senators were present, that tally was impossible. The Secretary of Senate later adjusted the number of votes in favour to 30.
That tally still leaves three missing votes. One was the president, who did not vote on his own fate. Two Senators were uncounted and may not have voted.
Three individual head-counters, including the Secretary of Senate, counted votes on both motions.
On the Shah question, less than a dozen speakers addressed the half-emptied auditorium after the Chakma vote, although both Board appointees to the Senate joined the debate in defense of the chair.
Neither Chakma nor Shah offered public comment after the vote.
The results of these two motions are non-binding. They will be sent as advice to the Board for consideration at its next meeting, April 23.