In view of what has already been said and written about the forthcoming appointment of a new rector at the University of Malta, it might be worth taking a flashback to 2006.

Juanito Camilleri’s appointment as rector was a controversial affair. He had left the university about seven years before to set up and spearhead Go Mobile, which was aimed at breaking Vodafone’s monopoly. When Maltacom’s privatisation came on the agenda, he briefly moved to Melita Cable.

During his time in the telecoms business, Camilleri is not likely to have had enough time for much academic work. In 2006, the university rector was Roger Ellul Micallef. He had grassroots academic support for a third term in office, including from the powerful deans’ lobby.

Juanito Camilleri’s appointment as rector was a controversial affair

On the eve of the rector’s election, the government replaced all but three of its own appointees on the University Council, which is the governing body of the university.

The change caught the academic and non-academic staff by surprise. The only council members kept on were Paul Attard, who was then permanent secretary at the Education Ministry, Angela Callus, then Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s sister-in-law, and journalist Godfrey Grima.

The first council meeting attended by the new government appointees seems to have been heated and confrontational. At that meeting, the members on the government side made it amply clear they fully supported Camilleri’s nomination to become the new rector. This was strongly contested by all 10 deans of the university at the time. In fact, they had all signed a letter in favour of Ellul Micallef and two deans had actually returned from overseas specifically to sign the declaration.

Moreover, the University of Malta Academic Staff Association released a statement expressing its concern at the way events at the university were unfolding. It argued that the government had obviously decided to have its way through the strength of its 13 council members.

In fact, a prominent academic described the turn of events as “a coup d’état at the University of Malta”.

The sequence of events at that council meeting saw a clear and visible divide between the government and the university sides. The first clash between the two ‘factions’ was about when the election for the rector should be held. Initially, the university ‘side’ wanted early elections but the government ‘side’ wanted to postpone to a later date.

Hot on the heels of this debate came an item regarding a protest by the Senate (which is the academic body composed of the deans, faculty representatives and students) related to the setting up of the National Commission for Higher Education, which ended up being quashed by the new government majority.

As the election loomed nearer, there was still some hope that Ellul Micallef would decide to throw in his nomination for the election. Both academic and government members on the council were left guessing. Eventually, his nomination was never submitted, thus leaving Camilleri as the sole contender.

It is said that the incumbent was hurt and disheartened by the whole murky affair and wanted to have nothing further to do with it.

On being elected rector, Camilleri was given an immediate promotion from associate professor to full professor. This title is normally reserved for seasoned academics with a track record of publications and scholarship.

It is worth noting that associate professors who leave the university normally relinquish their academic title. In this case, therefore, an exception seems to have been made and a new precedent was set.

Senior academics who had been overlooked for promotion to the professorship perceived Camilleri’s fast tracking as a slap in the face.

Lest it be forgotten.

Aleks Farrugia is a former newspaper editor