9 April 2008

The Board of Trustees met on Wednesday 9 April 2008, in the Boardroom, Building AD, Werrington North. A summary of matters discussed is provided below.

Confirmation of Minutes
The minutes (PDF, 53Kb) of the February 2008 meeting of the Board of Trustees were confirmed and can be downloaded from this page.

Main Items Considered by the Board

Chancellor and New Deputy Chancellor
Academic Staff Member
Vice-Chancellor's Report
Division of International and Development
Name Change of the School of Nursing
Audited Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2007
Board Report for UWS Annual Report
Review of Academic Governance Policy and Arrangements
Board Standing Committee and Remuneration and Nominations Committee
Other Reports and Items Considered by the Board
Date of Next Meeting

Chancellor and New Deputy Chancellor

The Board was advised that the Chancellor was now in the last year of his term of office and that he had expressed a willingness to continue to serve the University.

The Board agreed that Mr Phillips’ contributions as Chancellor have been invaluable and that the University would benefit from his continued contributions as Chancellor as the University continued to develop.

The Board also discussed the need to elect a new Deputy Chancellor following the resignation of Ms Gabrielle Kibble. The Board recorded its deep appreciation and gratitude for the long and valuable service given by Ms Kibble as a Trustee, Deputy Chancellor and, more recently, Chair of the Campus Development Committee.

It was resolved that Mr John Phillips would be re-elected as Chancellor and Mr Kim Yeadon would be elected as Deputy Chancellor.

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Academic Staff Member

The Chancellor advised the Board that Ms Genevieve Kelly had submitted her resignation from the Board, effective 31 May 2008. In accepting her resignation on behalf of the Board, the Chancellor thanked Genevieve for her substantial contribution to the work of the Board and wished her well for the future.

As a result of Ms Kelly’s resignation, and in accordance with the University of Western Sydney By-law, 2005, an election will be conducted to fill the casual vacancy in the position.

For more information about the election, please see Elections.

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Vice-Chancellor's Report

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

UWS honoured for fifth consecutive year as Employer of Choice for Women
International Women’s Day
Local Government Forums
New UWS website
Journal of the Cross and Icon, Campbelltown campus
Visit by Minister Verity Firth to Campbelltown campus
Earth Hour
Nominations – Professor Gail Jones’ nominations for literary awards
What Matters essay competition
The Hon Helen Sham-Ho honoured in Chinese Community Awards
Workplace Disability Forum

She also noted to the Board that:

The Federal Government’s review of higher education is underway
UWS will be well represented at the 2020 summit
Members of the University Executive will be meeting with staff at upcoming campus forums.

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Division of International and Development

Professor John Ingleson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic and Enterprise, provided a presentation on key strategies, significant achievements and key directions of his Division, noting that the Division had recently changed to include the Library, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) and Indigenous Education.

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Name Change of the School of Nursing

The Board approved the change of name of the School of Nursing to become the School of Nursing and Midwifery.

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Audited Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2007

The Board considered and approved the audited annual financial statements and authorised the Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor to sign, on the Board’s behalf, the 'Statement by Members of the Board of Trustees' and the 'Statement of Certification'. The statements had been reviewed by the joint meeting of the Audit and Risk Management Committee and the Strategy and Resources Committee which included discussions with representatives of the Audit Office of New South Wales. The NSW Audit Office representative advised the Board that he is able to issue an unqualified independent audit report.

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Board Report for UWS Annual Report

The Board approved the 'UWS Board of Trustees Report' to be included in the UWS Annual Report and authorised the Chancellor to approve the document on the Board’s behalf. The draft Annual Report, following final revisions, will be published on the University’s web site, together with the financial statements.

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Review of Academic Governance Policy and Arrangements

Further to its resolution in October 2007, the Board resolved that the terms of office of the present elected members of Academic Senate, including those of the Chair and Deputy Chair of Senate, and its School and College Committees, be extended until the declaration of the polls for the election of the new Senate. This will be following completion in 2008 of Senate’s maintenance review of academic governance arrangements.

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Board Standing Committee and Remuneration and Nominations Committee

The Board approved an Emeritus Professor nomination, two honorary awards and appointed the Hon Kim Yeadon to the position of Chair of the Campus Development Committee. It also noted the changes to the University’s Executive portfolio arrangements.

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