A group of University of Guelph faculty, staff and alumni emailed President Franco Vaccarino recently to express concerns about the University’s handling of the termination of Dave Scott-Thomas from his position as the head of U of G’s track and field and cross-country program. This week, the group’s email was the subject of media reports. President Vaccarino is sharing his response with the entire University community here:

Dear Concerned Faculty and Staff:

Thank you for your February 14 letter and for the sentiment and spirit that underpinned your communication. Your letter is well aligned with my own feelings and thoughts on moving forward.

As you know, this has been a difficult and challenging time for the University of Guelph community. It was extremely upsetting for me to read Megan Brown’s description of her experience of sexual violence, hardship and suffering. I have extended a personal apology to Megan and a public apology to any current or former student-athletes who experienced such an appalling abuse of power and trust.

This has been a time of deep reflection, especially in terms of how we can be leaders in a societal conversation on gendered violence and gender equity, which is of the utmost importance. As such, I appreciated greatly your efforts to frame this situation in a broader context, as this issue goes well beyond the current specifics on our campus.

Like you, I am experiencing a cascade of emotions – among them, shock, anger and sadness – as a result of the violations of trust and of values that we hold highly at the University, especially those of ensuring student safety, health and well-being.

As we navigate through the array of feelings, including some very real and powerful raw emotions, we also have an opportunity here. I strongly believe we can effect change and use this moment to raise our bar and to show broader sector leadership.

The University has taken steps in recent years and months to improve the culture in athletics and across the University. But we must do more. We recognize the broader realities of deep-rooted societal challenges relating to gendered violence, gender equity and abuses of power, and are determined to be part of the solutions to these challenges.

Let me directly address the three main issues raised in your letter:

1. It is important to have an external review of processes and policies for responding to gendered violence in relation to 2006 and subsequently. Such a review would complement an internal review already underway of our campus sexual violence policy and procedures. A mandate will need to be developed with some reflection and input, and I look forward to getting back to you with a plan in the weeks ahead.

2. I agree that the results of such reviews, including the review by McLaren Global Sport Solutions, should be shared publicly with our U of G community; we will do this.

3. I appreciate and agree with your comments on the importance of language; specifically, the highlighting of gendered violence and gender equity in this regard. We will pay closer attention to this in future communications.

Let me end by thanking you for your thoughtfulness and engagement. I also want to reiterate the University’s commitment to addressing these issues and in fostering a culture of transparency and trust on our campus and beyond. Please be assured that I will be engaging the University community in important discussions on these topics in the near future.

As mentioned previously, this is indeed a difficult and challenging moment for the University of Guelph community. At the same time, I do not believe that it defines us. Our U of G values and character remain strong, as does our concern for and commitment to our broader U of G family.

Sincerely,

Franco J. Vaccarino, PhD, FCAHS

President and Vice-Chancellor

University of Guelph