In 2015 Hart Hanson, the esteemed producer, screenwriter and creator of the hit television series Bones, received an honorary degree from The University of British Columbia. Hanson completed his Master of Fine Arts degree at UBC in 1987 and was preparing to give back to his alma mater by making a substantial donation to the University.
At the time of receiving his honorary degree, Hanson briefly met Creative Writing Chair Steven Galloway. Since that time Professor Galloway has been fired from his job and publicly shamed on social media without UBC even clarifying the nature of the allegations against him.
Hanson told the Globe and Mail “Something stinks in the way this is being handled, and I don’t know enough to know what it is.”
Hanson wrote nine letters to upper echelon administrators at UBC stating that he was no longer comfortable following through with his planned donation.
Click here to read the Globe and Mail’s Coverage of Hart Hanson’s Principled Stand
Or Click here to read Madeleine Thien’s letter to UBC