Much has come to light surrounding the recruitment of a new chancellor for the University of Newcastle, not least is the need for trust and transparency in the next selection process.
As chancellor Paul Jeans rightly said on July 1, the UoN is an institution for and of the region.
But it appears that the university sought to make a substantial change to the leadership of the region's institution, without asking the region, effectively its market, whether they, (we), might buy into this change.
The principle of doing market research is something taught in the University Business School, and for new start ups, at the I2N Innovation Network run by the university.
The events surrounding the appointment of Mark Vaile were an unfortunate, public, opaque and embarrassing way to establish what their market wanted.
This decision came down to the smaller nomination and governance committee consisting of the chancellor, vice-chancellor and only four others.
Although many disparate groups recently came together to say what we did not want, it is time to scrutinise what has happened (even unentertaining, but important, matters of council procedure) and put minds and voices to what is possible.
Glaringly, there is no requirement for proven ethical corporate governance among elected or appointed council members.
In order for trust to be regained in the community and its "market", the university, having made an unfortunate misstep that damaged its reputation, has to win back future students, future innovators, staff, philanthropists and industry.
It is the continuing defence of the council's recent actions that draws its internal processes further out into the public sphere for scrutiny.
Perhaps this scrutiny of process was meant to be, considering the future we are facing. Could this be the catalyst for us to learn this governance, now, inclusively, for the sake of lives, the land and jobs?
The rules governing appointments to University Councils in NSW are missing some crucial criteria. The requirements are mainly focused on financial and commercial expertise.
Nowhere is there a requirement for environmental, First Nations or commercial innovation expertise, three skill sets that are about to take us into the future.
Glaringly, there is no requirement for proven ethical corporate governance among elected or appointed council members.
It is astonishing that such an excellent council of knowledgeable and qualified people, our Second Nation Elders, would welcome Mark Vaile and his chairmanship of Whitehaven, a company that pleaded guilty to breaches of mining laws that could cause environmental harms that could last decades.
In looking ahead, one way to include the community representation for selecting the new chancellor is to use section 4.2 of the University Council Nominations and Governance Committee Charter to "... invite any other person to assist the deliberations of the Committee by attending either for particular items or for entire meetings."
What we know so far tells us the UoN is well-placed financially compared with other universities due to a lesser dependence on international students, among other factors.
Looking ahead does not entail losing crucial staff, losing courses and it does not entail controversial associations with corporations that we believe do not represent community interests.
Yes there was fundamental opposition to fossil fuels, but many were also bothered by Whitehaven's lack of corporate social responsibility and Vaile's effect on transition. As such, there are a range of matters to consider for a new chancellor and for working relationships between the UoN, any commercial partners and the community.
Although it may seem counter-intuitive to advocate for fossil fuel companies, pivoting large companies (such as Whitehaven, Santos, APA pipeline trust, and more Hunter based companies such as Glencore) means having an innovation-ready executive and workforce, an understanding of where technology can work with nature (the role of First Nations), and a university able to bring all of those elements into diplomatic dialogue.
Ironically, these are the very courses offered to staff, students and anyone in the community at the University's Innovation Network.
The Newcastle and Hunter community is now paying attention.
We are also now taking some of the responsibility for how our institution is run that has perhaps been unfairly shouldered by a select few given the significant role of UoN in our community.
This reset is an opportunity to work together as a broader community and indeed to "Look Ahead".
