The appointment of Dr. Terry Weninger as the president of Yukon College has numerous members of the Yukon College Employees' Union up in arms.

Monday's announcement of Weninger's appointment shocked many union members, due to the fact that Weninger was not a candidate for the position, and not involved in the selection nor interview process.

Tim Topper, the acting union president, expressed concern and confusion about how Weninger became president in a letter to board of governors chair Clarence Timmons and numerous other Yukon College employees.

'I was immediately inundated by a constant stream of questions and challenges from union members asking what had happened and how it could happen,' Topper wrote.

'The overwhelming feeling is one of betrayal: that the candidates were not who we were told, that the process was not as we were told, and that despite what it had said it would do, the board instead acted arbitrarily in appointing the next president.'

Weninger was appointed acting president after the departure of Sally Webber in 2006.

Timmons later issued a response in order to clarify the selection process, and illuminate how Weninger was ultimately selected.

An advisory selection committee, composed of union and staff members and which Weninger was chair of, was given the task of selecting candidates. There were more than 50 applicants for the position, and the committee narrowed it down to seven or eight candidates, according to Timmons.

One of these shortlisted candidates withdrew, and then a final three candidates were brought forward to the board. One of these final three also withdrew, at which point the candidate in fourth place was selected to move on.

Timmons said there was no official comment from staff regarding which candidate they preferred. However, Topper said that Christina Thomas, the staff representative on the board of governors, was made aware of the staff's preferences.

Thomas was unavailable for comment today.

The board conducted two hour-long, in-person interviews with the candidates, followed by a full day of discussion behind closed doors.

'These talks were done with Weninger not in the room, and he had nothing to do with the selection,' Timmons said. 'His role (as chair of the advisory selection committee) was complete and he was no longer involved.'

The job was offered to the candidate the board deemed best suited to the position, but last Thursday, the individual informed the board he would not accept the job offer.

The board then determined the other two candidates did not fit with the direction they wanted the college to take, and that another competition for the position would take too long.

'It wouldn't be appropriate for another recruitment to happen at this point,' Timmons said. 'There are a lot of issues we'd like to move forward on now.'

It was at this point that the job was offered to Weninger.

In Topper's letter, he conveyed some union members' distaste regarding Weninger's appointment, due to the fact he was never a formal applicant for the position, nor was he shortlisted or interviewed.

'Some members are disappointed, many feel suckered, and some are furious,' Topper wrote.

Timmons' stated that Weninger went through a similar process last year when he applied for the job as interim president. Weninger was formerly the president of the College of New Caledonia in British Columbia from 1990-2004.

Timmons went on to say an explanation should have been provided to staff members prior to the announcement of Weninger's appointment.

'The second e-mail (the explanation) should've been the first one,' Timmons admitted.

Topper said the explanation helped, but he still feels opportunities were missed.

'On one hand, people feel better having heard what happened, but on the other hand, we still feel there were some missed chances,' he said.

Topper said that after the selected candidate refused the job offer, the board should have paused and thought before they moved on. Union members feel they should have had input before the board proceeded and appointed Weninger president.

'The selection committee is there to put in a broad amount of input about the three candidates, which happened,' Topper said. 'But in the end, there wasn't the same amount of input about who actually got the position.'

Topper also expressed how many staff were upset about the lack of initial explanation.

'When they got a brief e-mail saying we did something different', people went ballistic. Things didn't work out the way they hoped.'

Topper reiterated that despite some lingering displeasure amongst some staff members, they are completely committed to providing a great experience for the students at Yukon College.

Timmons planned to meet with Weninger later today, at which point they would discuss possible meetings with staff members to further explain the process.

'If the staff wishes to meet about this, then we'll explain exactly what happened in an open and transparent manner,' Timmons said. 'From the board's point of view, we have nothing to hide.'

Confidential negotiations of Weninger's contract are underway, which will determine details including Weninger's salary. Timmons did not want to comment on whether there would be any increase from previous salaries.

'I have no idea because it's a personnel issue, and the board doesn't usually get involved in personnel issues.'

Timmons expected the negotiation to be completed very soon, possibly by the end of the week.