Content
The importance of University Council
6 September 2008
The University is established under a State Act of Parliament but receives most of its funding from the Commonwealth Government, based on the number of enrolled students.
Amongst the functions of the University in the Act are that our courses should meet the needs of the community and that we should encourage the advancement and development of knowledge and its application to government, industry, commerce and the community.
These are community-related functions that we strongly supported when the Act was being drafted in 1994, and I can remember my elation in State Parliament when Minister Comben secured the passage of the Act to establish the institution.
The Act also establishes senior officers and a Council, with broad powers to ensure the functions of the University are appropriately pursued.
There is an elected, honorary, Chancellor who presides over Council meetings. Our Chancellors have been Tony Fitzgerald AC, Ian Kennedy AO, and is currently John Dobson OAM. Our Deputy Chancellor is currently Tim Fairfax AM.
Council is, therefore, the governing body and meets six times a year. It scrutinises all new policies, financial affairs, and senior appointments. It also receives detailed reports on university progress from the Vice-Chancellor (the Chief Executive Officer) and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor.
The Council itself comprises eighteen members, three of whom are official (Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor and Chairperson of the Academic Board), 5 elected members of staff and students, 6 members appointed by the State ‘Governor-in-Council’, and 4 ‘additional members’. In the latter two categories, we always hope to attract people who are sympathetic to the complexities of the Region, and the sectoral uniqueness of USC. External people on the current Council like John Dobson, Tim Fairfax, Dr Keith Steele, Julie-Anne Mee, David Jeffries, Michael Williams, Paul Lunn and Phillip Harding do an outstanding job in representing the community interests with their complementary and wide-ranging expertise. They fulfill their roles on Council and committees out of interest and commitment because they receive no remuneration.
The Chancellor – Vice-Chancellor relationship is of course pivotal, because those roles are the most frequently confused within the community, even though they are quite distinct. The Chancellor is focused on governance, compliance and accountability, through Council, consistent with the Act.
The Vice-Chancellor is not a deputy, but fulfills the distinctively different role in leading the University and oversighting all its activities on a day to day basis. It is sometimes referred to as President, or CEO, in order to emphasise the differentiation.
Nevertheless, despite the traditional differences, there is occasionally a blurring or even conflict, largely because of the personalities of the incumbents. Where conflict occurs it can be hugely disruptive to the work of Council, to the functioning of the University, and the morale of staff. That conflict is occurring in at least one university in this country, and has happened many times in the past and the consequences are highly divisive.
Thankfully the successive Chancellor - Vice-Chancellor relationships here have been strong and the role differences well understood. That result is in no small measure a major contributory factor to the success of Councils and the university itself.
The Community’s members are safeguarding the University’s and the Region’s interests well.
Professor Paul Thomas AM is Vice-Chancellor at the University of the Sunshine Coast.