27 February 2008

The Board of Trustees met on Wednesday 27 February 2008, in the Boardroom, Building AD, Werrington North.  A summary of matters discussed is provided below.

Confirmation of Minutes
The minutes (PDF, 61kb) of the December 2007 meeting of the Board of Trustees were confirmed and can be downloaded from this page.

Main Items Considered by the Board

Vice-Chancellor's Report

The Vice-Chancellor's report included advice to the Board on:

• National apology
• University offers and enrolments
• ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials
• TAFE/VET Pathways website
• Course decision day
• Improved educational opportunities for people with disabilities
• Vale Emeritus Professor Jim McKnight OAM
• Swedish honorary doctorate
• NSW Life Sciences Research Awards
• UWS welcomes Professor Gail Jones
• Water matters for Western Sydney
• College of Business articulation agreements
• UWS honours industry partners
• Celebrating research
• Celebrating twenty years of Interpreting and Translation at UWS
• UWSCollege

College of Health and Science

Professor Beryl Hesketh, Executive Dean of the College of Health and Science, provided a presentation on the College’s key strategies, significant challenges, significant achievements and key directions for the next 3 to 5 years.

Governance Matters

UWS By-Law Revisions:
The Board approved amendments to the UWS By-Law to include the option of conducting Board elections via the internet.

Membership of Strategy and Resources Committee:
The Board appointed the student and staff members of the SRC.

Review of Indigenous Advisory Council

The Board approved the revision of membership and terms of reference of the Indigenous Advisory Council, summarised below:

• The Dean of Indigenous Education was appointed as the Chair of the IAC for a two year term.  At any time in the future the Chair of the IAC should be either the Dean of Indigenous Education or a community representative who is an accomplished Indigenous Australian.
• The IAC membership has been expanded to include, in addition to the current Indigenous staff and student members, one Indigenous alumnus of UWS, one Board of Trustees member and up to ten Indigenous community members.  Additional members may be co-opted at the discretion of the Vice-Chancellor.
• The Terms of Reference have been revised slightly.  The revised terms will be available from the IAC web site and are also provided here for convenience.

Indigenous Education Policy

Professor Michael McDaniel briefed the Board on the background to the Indigenous Education Policy, saying that this policy was a timely document of principle and vision for the University of Western Sydney.  The Board unanimously approved the Indigenous Education Policy. 

Membership of Campus Development Committee

The Board approved the amendment of the Terms of Reference and Membership of the CDC to increase the number of independent external members from two to four.

Capital Works Budget 2008 and Financial Projections 2009-2010

The Board approved the 2008 Program and Capital Works Budget.

Other Reports and Items Considered by the Board

• Enrolment Report (First Semester 2008)
• Research Quality Framework
• Strategy and Resources Committee and the UWS Integrated Strategy quarterly report
• Audit and Risk Management Committee
• Report from the Chair of Academic Senate
• Remuneration and Nominations Committee
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Staffing Matters
• 2007 Media Coverage Summary
• Critical Incident Report into Multi-Campus Flooding
  

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Board will be held on Wednesday 9 April 2008.