Thirty-nine professors at the University of New England have called on its governing body to take urgent action to “heal” the university following the resignation of former vice-chancellor Brigid Heywood.
In a letter to the university council the professors, who represent a majority of the UNE professoriate, said the university’s problems had not been resolved.
They called on the council, which is the university’s top governing body, to set up “appropriate, independent systems and processes to ensure that staff can report misconduct and wrongdoing within UNE without fear of retribution”. The professors also called for an independent review of all senior executive and senior management appointments.
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Separately the UNE branch of the National Tertiary Education Union passed a resolution last week that called for an independent inquiry into governance at the university, and for chancellor James Harris, who chairs the university’s governing council, to step down.
The NTEU resolution also called on interim vice-chancellor Simon Evans to “engage an expert independent consultation process to reshape a safe organisational culture at UNE”.
A UNE spokesman said the university had no comment on the NTEU resolution as it has not yet been officially informed of it by the union.
Professor Heywood resigned on August 5 after being charged with assault following an incident at a public event in Armidale in March this year in which she is alleged to have licked her finger and wiped saliva on the skin of a 16-year-old girl of Indian descent, and made a comment about the colour of the girl’s skin.
Professor Heywood, who was appointed vice-chancellor in 2019, has told the university council that she strenuously denies the truth of the charges and will defend them.
Thirty-five professors at UNE signed the letter, which was sent individually to council members last Friday.
Four more professors joined in agreement after the letter was sent.
In the letter the professors said there needed to be an independent process “to bring forward evidence of misconduct and maladministration that has occurred over the past three years”.
“This should include reaching out to the many staff who left UNE, either voluntarily or through coercion. It should include council formally overriding the nondisclosure agreements to which some staff were bound,” the letter says.
“The purpose is not a witch hunt. It is essential that council has the evidence of the inappropriate behaviours and practices that have occurred over the past few years.
“It is also essential to demonstrate to UNE staff that it is safe for staff to report misconduct in the knowledge that their concerns will be heard without fear of retribution.”
The professors’ letter says the university had tolerated “inappropriate behaviour” that had “spread in senior management positions and down”.
“The belief of many staff is that a number of people hold senior positions for which they are not qualified,” it says.
In the letter the 39 professors also called for an independent review of senior appointments at the university.
“There have been many senior appointments over the past few years where policy and procedure and due process has not been followed. This has created a situation where the legitimacy of the senior leadership is questioned,” the letter says. “It is vitally important that members of senior executive/administration have been appointed following due process.”
A UNE spokesman said Mr Harris would meet the main signatory of the professors’ letter, John Gibson, later this week to discuss the issues raised.
Professor Gibson is director of the university’s Institute for Genetics and Bioinformatics.
In the statement on August 5 that announced Professor Heywood’s resignation, Mr Harris said: “The university council wants to clearly state that it remains deeply committed to fostering a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for its students, staff and community at all times.”
Sydney
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