In a media statement released on Wednesday 11 December, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) announced a plan to conduct an ANU all-staff vote of no confidence in ANU Vice Chancellor Genevieve Bell, unless she is removed from the Vice Chancellor position prior to the vote, currently scheduled for February 2025.
In their response, a spokesperson for the University dismissed the power of the union, stating that it has “only 15 percent of ANU staff and does not get to decide who runs the university.” They criticised the NTEU for “…resorting to personal attacks and cheap stunts” rather than “…better serv[ing] its members by engaging constructively with the University on our change proposals.”
The spokesperson told Woroni that Vice Chancellor Bell continues to have the “…full support of the Council.”
According to the Union, the proposed no confidence motion “…follows damaging job cuts, an 88 percent staff vote against the Vice-Chancellor’s proposal to vary the Enterprise Agreement, damaging revelations about a culture of fear and intimidation, revelations that Deans have been intimidated and encouraged it to resign, fresh doubts about the ANU financial crisis from independent S&P Global credit analyst Anthony Walker, and further revelations that the Vice-Chancellor has held a second job at Intel while Vice-Chancellor.”
The NTEU and supporting students have rallied against Bell and the University after the Renew ANU Plan and its associated staff cuts were announced in October, prompting the Vice Chancellor to request that staff forego their pay increases to assist in ameliorating the university’s estimated $200 million plus deficit.
The recent report in the Australian Financial Review that Vice Chancellor Bell had been receiving a second salary from her previous employer, Intel, until November this year represents the latest controversy in what NTEU ACT Division Secretary Dr Lachlan Clohesy describes as a “farce” that “…has gone on long enough.” Clohesy asserts that “ANU staff who are found to have two jobs are normally fired for serious misconduct.”
The University maintains that “Professor Bell’s work with Intel is no secret”, having been “…known by the Council” and disclosed on the University’s own website. They noted that external employment by an academic in their field of expertise was “common”.
Regardless, for the NTEU, Bell’s position has become “clearly untenable”, according to Dr Clohesy, who calls on the ANU Council to “…stem the bleeding and mitigate the damage the [sic] Vice-Chancellor is doing to this great university.”
Accusing Vice Chancellor Bell of having “…alienated staff through all levels of the workforce”, NTEU ANU Branch President Millan Pintos-Lopez told media that “Enough is enough, and it’s time for a change.”
“Our members have no confidence that she is the right person to lead ANU during these challenging times” says Pintos-Lopez.
The University has assured students that their experience remains the “highest priority” at this time, and that “Realigning” their staffing and “…being more efficient in… spending are designed to support our teaching and campus experience.” They encouraged students to look at the resources and wellbeing information available on the Renew ANU website and FAQ page.
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