A series of high profile
scandals and governance failures has cost the Australian National University $100m in reputational damage, the interim vice-chancellor, Rebekah Brown, has told a parliamentary committee.
Fronting senate estimates on Friday – a day after a scathing audit report found the ANU approved a controversial $250m cost-cutting program without clear evidence – Brown acknowledged it had been a challenging time for the university.
Brown said the financial loss was primarily due to the reputational effect on the ANU’s donor pipeline and the recruitment of international students.
“It is very significant, and we are still modelling the impact, the impact is still live,” Brown told the hearing.
“Our modelling from the end of last year … it’s in the order of $100m.”
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The university has been plagued by scandals in recent years into the university’s culture, poor financial management, as well as
accusations of bullying against former chancellor Julie Bishop made at a senate inquiry. Bishop has previously said she rejected “each and every allegation” against her.
The cost-cutting program, dubbed Renew ANU, led to the resignation of former vice-chancellor, Genevieve Bell
in September. In the 12 months prior to September, Renew had resulted in at least 399 redundancies.
Bishop, who became chancellor in 2020, resigned in May, ahead of her term as chancellor expiring at the end of the year. The university’s council has also seen five of its 15 members resign from their positions this year.
The selection of Bishop’s replacement has been largely taken out of the ANU council’s hands, through intervention by the regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. The council agreed to a voluntary undertaking, which will see a majority independent panel make a recommendation to the council for the next chancellor.
The acting chancellor, and former government department secretary, Andrew Metcalfe, said he acknowledged the loss of confidence in the university by the public, its staff and students.
“I want to acknowledge plainly that confidence in the governance of the ANU is seriously damaged in the last few years, staff and students have felt hurt, disillusioned and not valued, trust has been lost and the council has a duty to confront that directly,” Metcalfe told estimates.
On Thursday, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) released a scathing review of the Renew ANU, which it said was approved with no clear evidence it was needed, urgent or achievable.
The report found Renew cost more than $35m to implement and achieved an ongoing annual saving of $74.8m, and warned revenue and people risks remain.
Independent senator for the ACT, David Pocock, called the report a tough read, and said it justified the community’s outrage at the “manufactured financial crisis”.
“The ANAO’s report highlights a swathe of failings, finding that Renew ANU was approved without a clear understanding of the problem, the options available, or the implementation risks,” Pocock said.
<small>Source: The Guardian</small>
