"A Culture of Fear": U of Manitoba architecture dean to leave amid controversy

2015-03-02T19:29:00-05:00

Ralph Stern, the dean of the faculty of architecture at the University of Manitoba in Canada, announced he will not seek reappointment following the publication of a damning report by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT). Accused of contributing to the creation of a “culture of fear and retribution,” Dean Stern has faced controversy since assuming the post in 2010, with repeated complaints lodged from both colleagues and students.

The CAUT report detailed the rapid turnover of personnel within the department. Over the course of Dean Stern’s tenure, an alleged three different department heads passed through, two of them leaving with documented grievances directed at Stern. In particular, former head of the department Nat Chard wrote in a published letter, “My sole reason for leaving the University of Manitoba was the behaviour of the Dean, who established a culture of fear within the faculty and appeared only to try to find problems with the department, despite its p...

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"A Culture of Fear": U of Manitoba architecture dean to leave amid controversy