Uncertainty regarding a position at UBC

Anticipating the transfer of the botanical work to UBC, Young asked Davidson to apply for a position with the university, something that pleased the 35-year-old Davidson to no end. Frank F. Wesbrook, who had been appointed president of the University of British Columbia in February 1913, thought otherwise. When asked to pay for a portion of Davidson’s expenses at Essondale that year, Wesbrook said:

The university makes no tentative or other agreement with Mr. Davidson as to any University position. His training and qualifications appear to be rather along the lines of collecting, classifying and preserving plants for museum purposes rather than the conduct of a large botanical department, of which the museum would be but a single feature and sub-department.

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Wesbrook felt that the university should wait until “after the appointment of the professor” before filling the junior post that Davidson sought. These words troubled Davidson, who had fled Scotland to escape credential requirements.