Ilene Busch-Vishniac

Ilene Busch-Vishniac
9th President of the University of Saskatchewan
In office July 1, 2012 – May 21, 2014
Preceded by	Peter MacKinnon
Succeeded by	Gordon Barnhart
Personal details
Born	Philadelphia
Spouse(s)	Ethan Vishniac
Residence	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Alma mater	University of Rochester MIT
Profession	engineer

Ilene Busch-Vishniac is an American mechanical engineer and university administrator. She served as Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University from 1998 to 2003.^[1] then resigned the position to serve as President of the Acoustical Society of America, an elected non-gratis position, from 2003 to 2005.^[2] She served as Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs at McMaster University from 2007 to 2012, and as President of the University of Saskatchewan from 2012 to 2014.^[3] She has written research papers for the ASME on matters related to tribology.

She is married to astrophysicist Ethan Vishniac.

University of Saskatchewan

In December 2011, Busch-Vishniac was selected as the ninth President of the University of Saskatchewan, replacing Peter MacKinnon with effect from July 2012.^[4] On May 21, 2014, she was "terminated without cause" from her position amid national criticism surrounding the Provost's decision, Brett Fairbairn, to dismiss and end the tenure of an executive director who had openly criticized the university's leadership while Busch-Vishniac was away.^[5][6] Busch-Vishniac criticized the decision the next day, and invited the former executive director to return as a professor.^[7] In June, 2015, Busch-Vishniac filed a lawsuit over her firing seeking $8.5 million in damages, naming Saskatchewan Premier, Brad Wall, former Minister of Advanced Education, Rob Norris, as well as the university and Board of Governors and alleging that both the Premier and former Minister unlawfully influenced the Board's decision in her firing.^[8] The University is also accused of violating its bylaws when it terminated her contract.^[9] The lawsuit is ongoing.

References

1. Retrieved on 2014-06-14
2. [Curriculum vitae: http://www.mcmaster.ca/vpacademic/provost_cv.html] Retrieved 2014-06-14
3. usask.ca: "Office of the President: About Ilene", retrieved 22 May 2014
4. "Ilene Busch-Vishniac Named Ninth President of the University of Saskatchewan" Retrieved on 2012-01-02
5. "University of Saskatchewan Board Fires President Ilene Busch-Vishniac" Retrieved on 2014-05-22
6. Globe and Mail: "Academic Freedom? It’s Not Just an Academic Argument" (editorial) 20 May 2014
7. Hill, ,Andrea. "Firing of outspoken prof did not violate University of Saskatchewan Act: board". www.thestarphoenix.com. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
8. Rockliffe, Amber. "Employment law expert weighs in on Busch-Vishniac lawsuit". Global News. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
9. "Former U of S president Busch-Vishniac sues over dismissal". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-04-27.