Please find attached information on becoming a Victoria University Council member.
The Council is the governing authority of the University and sets its direction. As a Council member you would have an opportunity to have a say in this direction and to also ensure that the community’s views are acknowledged and represented on this body.
Please consider nominating yourself if you feel that you have something to offer soon or consider approaching someone you know who you think might make a good Victoria University Councillor.
As you know Friends of Victoria University has been for sometime concerned about the general direction of the University. The Victoria University Act (1990) indicates that two of the more important objects of the University are to:
(i) develop and provide ‘educational, cultural, professional, technical and vocational services to the community and in particular the fostering of participation in post-secondary education for persons living or working in the Western Metropolitan Region of Melbourne; and to
(j) provide ‘programs and services in ways which reflect principles of equity and social justice.’
In the past nine months, Victoria University management have made decisions which reflect very poorly on these objects: these include the decisions to close campuses without adequate consultation and the consequent limiting of opportunities for students in the outer western region, the sacking of 270 staff members, course and unit closures, shutting down of language offerings, ramping up of class sizes and increasing queues for student services by downsizing service areas – among a range of other poorly-thought through decisions.
There is clearly a need for change at the top and renewal of Victoria’s University’s governance to ensure that future decisions are based on principles of justice, rationality and accountability to the University’s key stakeholders students, staff, community and the west.
The current 12 external appointments to Council are nearly all from the corporate sector. There are few genuine community or educational representatives on Council.
This imbalance in representation was perhaps exacerbated recently further with the resignation of Professor Richard Teese from the University of Melbourne in December last year and his replacement by Mr Clovis Bonner, a Chartered Accountant, who is described in his University bio as having ‘considerable business advisory experience gained in the reorganisation of corporations, particularly in the areas of finance, organisational structure and strategic planning.’
While Friends of VU believes that it is important to have representatives who have good business acumen, we also believe there is a need for a wider diversity of representation to ensure that University is managed well educationally and in the interests of the region. Can you help?
The current membership of Victoria University Council consists of:
Statutes to be responsible for academic programs
The attached nomination form is for members of the community interested in nominating for the Governor in Council University positions which are appointed from a nominated pool by the state Government. In completing the application you are nominating for this pool.
If you are a student or staff member, elections are held regularly for Council positions inside the University – usually at the end or beginning of each year. Regular information is sent out concerning election via internal email or posted on the University website.
Please, however, also discuss issues of governance with your current elected Council members.
