There have been several calls for ANU Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell to either leave the position or be removed since the Renew ANU process began. Photo: Andrew Mears/ANU.
“If ANU Council have lost confidence in the Vice-Chancellor, as so many others have, they should act sooner rather than later by making the difficult decision to end the Vice-Chancellor’s term early.
“ANU need to come clean on what is happening.”
That’s the statement from the National Tertiary Education Union following recent media reporting that Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell has been asked to step down.
The Saturday Paper was the first to report that Chancellor Julie Bishop had arrived at the ANU campus on Tuesday (2 September) and met with a number of deans, reportedly then telling Ms Bell to “go or get pushed”.
At the time, the NTEU ACT branch stated on social media that it would be ready to work with a new leadership team to end Renew ANU and stop all forced redundancies.
“This is only possible with new leadership,” it stated.
“[The union] – and everyone else – knows that the farce at the Australian National University has gone on for far too long.”
It’s now understood that Ms Bell dug in her heels rather than negotiating terms, forcing a stalemate.
NTEU ACT division secretary Dr Lachlan Clohesy said the community deserved to know the truth and urged ANU to clarify what was going on.
“At the same time as palace intrigues go on behind closed doors in Chancelry, with rumours of million-dollar payouts or showdowns at ANU Council, more than 100 staff are still facing the prospect of forced redundancies,” he said.
“Many staff have noted the absence of a statement of support for the Vice-Chancellor from the Chancellor or the ANU Council.
“The Australian National University is broken. It’s not the staff or students that have broken it, they are the ones that have been persevering in the face of adversity. They also need certainty and a chance to move on.”
Dr Clohesy pointed out that both the national regulator, TEQSA, and the Fair Work Ombudsman were investigating the ANU, and thus felt the Vice-Chancellor’s leadership was not tenable.
“While ANU leadership may want to rebuild trust with the ANU community, we all need to acknowledge that there is a point past which it is no longer possible to rebuild trust,” he said.
“It is just gone. Staff, students, politicians, and members of the broader community might have reached that point at different times.
“But what is clear is that, in relation to the leadership of the Vice-Chancellor, most are there now.”
Region understands that if Ms Bell has been asked to leave, and if she has refused to do so, the only way ANU could now persuade her to go is through an out-of-session council meeting.
These are rarely publicly announced.
Region asked the university if an out-of-session council meeting had either been requested or scheduled for sometime in the next two weeks (from Monday, 8 September), as well as if it planned to either confirm or deny media reports about the actions of Ms Bishop and Ms Bell.
This publication did not receive a response. Region understands the university has chosen not to address the speculation at this time.
