UNE staff express ‘no confidence’ in Chancellor

A mass meeting of academic and general staff, students and the wider UNE community overwhelmingly endorsed a motion of no confidence in the Chancellor John Cassidy.

Around 350 attended the meeting which was called in response to a letter from the elected members of the University Council to the Presidents of the NTEU and CPSU.

Pressure for this meeting increased in response to comments made recently by Mr Cassidy in which he announced that he would be seeking another term as UNE Chancellor, and seemed to imply that current elected staff and student University Council representatives were mediocre.

In a joint statement, Branch Presidents of the Community and Public Sector Union and the National Tertiary Education Union said:

"Staff of UNE do not oppose the Chancellor's right to seek a further term. However, staff would hope that the University Council, which will have the opportunity to elect a new Chancellor later in the year, will make a decision that allows the University to progress in a unified manner to pursue its goals of excellence in teaching, research and service to our regional community".

"We need a Chancellor who unites staff behind a shared vision."

"Academic and general staff who attended today's meeting strongly expressed the view that the University would benefit by moving on from the current Chancellor".

Today's meeting also carried motions of support for the Vice Chancellor Alan Pettigrew and for the Chair of Academic Board and the elected staff and student members of the current University Council.

For further information or comment contact:
Kylie Day, Branch President, CPSU UNE Branch: 6773 2994
Maxine Darnell, Branch President, NTEU UNE Branch: 6773 3595