In his testimony at a University of British Columbia defamation trial, former dean Gage Averill said he stressed confidentiality after being told of allegations involving author Stephen Galloway in 2015.
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Gage Averill, a former dean of arts at the University of British Columbia who is now the university’s provost and vice-president, testified at a defamation trial that he had urged confidentiality after receiving information in November 2015 about allegations involving acclaimed author Stephen Galloway.
Averill said he was told by professor Annabel Lyon about the allegations against Galloway and that he then told her “about the need to contain the spread of information.” He also testified that it was “unfortunate” that faculty from the university’s creative writing department had already met about the allegations before that discussion.
Averill said he stressed to others that the matter “would have to be a confidential matter moving forward,” adding: “They should be very careful about that.” He told the court that because the departmental meeting about something he described as confidential had already occurred, “there was nothing I could do about that meeting,” but that the reason he continued to emphasize confidentiality and limiting discussion “beyond that group going forward” was to prevent further spread.
The court heard that Galloway’s suspension from the university had been publicly announced, with the announcement referring to “serious allegations” against him. Averill was asked by Sydney Gomez, lawyer for A.B., whether the university had publicly announced a professor’s suspension during his tenure, and he replied: “I don’t think so.”
Averill also explained how his role as dean included recommending termination of a professor to the university president, after which the decision would be handled by the board of governors.
Gomez asked Averill about Galloway’s termination letter, and whether its contents were “sufficient for finding a record of misconduct resulting in an irreparable breach of trust” against the author. Averill responded “Yes.”
Before Averill testified, Justice Neena Sharma said the court could not refer to “rumours and innuendo” about Galloway as evidence of a “bad reputation,” and warned that potentially inadmissible and prejudicial evidence could come out during testimony.
The trial involves Galloway, who denies the allegations. He says the former student known as A.B. and other defendants defamed him and ruined his reputation by spreading unproven accusations. A.B.’s name is under a publication ban; she is not testifying and is not defending the allegations as true.
A lawyer for Galloway, Dan Coles, argued in court that A.B. made “very public and very false allegations” that Galloway raped her, and that such claims were a “natural and probable consequence” that would spread widely. Averill’s testimony was the final witness in the trial.
Final submissions are set to begin on Nov. 23.
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