Memorial University chair resigns after sharing pro-Palestinian email with alum's dad

A sign is seen on the campus of Memorial University, Friday, June 23, 2023 in St. John's. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -

The chair of the board of regents at Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador has resigned after he was criticized for forwarding a pro-Palestinian campaign email he received from an alumna to her father.

Glenn Barnes' resignation took effect on Thursday. In a statement on the university's website, the board said members held a special meeting Tuesday during which they concluded Barnes had breached their code of conduct when he shared the email in June.

"The board thanks Mr. Barnes for his seven years of service and steadfast commitment to Memorial as a regent since 2017 and as chair since 2022," the statement said.

"As previously indicated, the privacy breach associated with this incident has been reported to the provincial Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner as per legislative requirements."

Becky Winsor sent a campaign email to Barnes on June 21 that said she stood with the activist group MUN Students for Palestine and their calls for the university to divest from "weapons manufacturing companies implicated in the genocide in Gaza," in reference to the Israel-Hamas war. She sent the email by clicking on a link supplied by the group.

In emails shared with The Canadian Press, Barnes forwarded Winsor's message to her father at 3:44 a.m. the next day, writing, "90 so far. This is personally intrusive and insulting to a volunteer board!"

Winsor's father wrote back, advising Barnes to raise the issue directly with the alumna. Barnes replied that he had received more than 100 such emails.

"I am telling parents that I know just what their kids are doing," Barnes wrote. "They need to grow up."

After investigating, the university's privacy office concluded last month that a member of the board of regents had made an "unauthorized disclosure" of a third-party email. It recommended privacy training and said the matter had been referred to the province's privacy watchdog.

Earlier this month, the province's Opposition Progressive Conservative party called for Barnes to be removed. The union representing the school's faculty followed suit, saying Barnes should at least be ousted until the code of conduct investigation was complete.

The board of regents is responsible for the conduct, management, administration and control of the university's property, revenue and business, according to the school's website. Its chair is appointed by the province's lieutenant-governor.

Krista Lynn Howell, the Liberal education minister, said in a news release Thursday that her department will "work expeditiously" to have a new chair appointed.

"I accept the resignation of Mr. Barnes," Howell said. "This has been a challenging time of change at Memorial, but I have seen positive enhancements and a willingness to improve transparency at the university and for the overall student experience."

The email gaffe comes after a difficult few years for the school, which included a controversial tuition hike, a faculty strike and the departure last year of its former president, Vianne Timmons, after questions arose about her claims of Indigenous heritage.

Barnes did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. He has previously said he did not wish to speak publicly on the matter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2024.