The now former chancellor of Laurentian University, TVO journalist Steve Paikin, said he resigned from the ceremonial post April 12 “for obvious reasons.”
Paikin resigned from Laurentian the same day the university made massive cuts to its programs and employees due to insolvency restructuring.
Sudbury.com reached out to Paikin by email, asking him for an interview about the reasons for his resignation, which comes a few months before his second term as chancellor would have ended. He responded with the following brief email.
“I’m staying out of it,” he said. “I don’t want to be a distraction to those who deserve the microphone right now. I resigned April 12 for obvious reasons. Nuff said.”
Paikin, anchor and senior editor of TVO’s flagship current affairs program The Agenda with Steve Paikin, let the news of his resignation slip via Twitter earlier this week.
His TVO colleague, Nam Kiwanuka, the substitute anchor with The Agenda, said on air Tuesday evening Paikin stepped down from his post at the university “given the current situation at Laurentian.”
Kiwanuka made the comments before hosting a discussion with several panellists about Laurentian University’s troubles.
“In the interest of full disclosure, we just wanted to let you know Steve isn’t doing this interview tonight because for the past eight years, he’s been the chancellor of Laurentian University,” she said.
“The chancellorship is a ceremonial position. He presided over convocations and special events. So, given the current situation at Laurentian, he decided to step down as chancellor a week ago.
“Just thought you all should all know that, and put that on the public record, so to speak.”
You can listen to Nam’s comments about Paikin and view the panel discussion below:
Laurentian political science professor Nadia Verrelli, who lost her job last week as her department was cut, was one of those who participated in the TVO panel discussion.
Verrelli brought up Paikin’s resignation during the April 20 LU Senate meeting. She asked Laurentian University president Robert Haché why Paikin had resigned.
“I will leave that for chancellor Paikin to share should he wish,” Haché said.
According to reports, Haché had put out an internal email about Paikin’s departure Monday, which said he left “due to competing professional obligations at this time.”
Haché said in the email Laurentian was very grateful for Paikin’s service, and wished him the best in his career.
During the Senate meeting, Verrelli pointed to Haché’s email, asking if the reason he gave for Paikin’s departure was true. “That is what was communicated in a statement, and I can’t say anything beyond that, unfortunately,” Haché said.
Verrelli then said she’d spoken to Paikin personally, and he told her it was “specifically the situation at Laurentian University, and the way in which things were handled at Laurentian that led him to resign as chancellor of Laurentian.
“He has given me the freedom or the ability to speak on that,” she said.
