11 April 2012 Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees met on Wednesday 11 April 2012, in the Boardroom, Building AD, Werrington North campus. A summary of matters discussed is provided below.

Confirmation of Minutes
The minutes of the 29 February 2012 (opens in a new window) (PDF, 65Kb) meeting of the Board of Trustees were confirmed and can be downloaded from this page.

Main Items Considered by the Board

Chancellor’s Report

The Chancellor, Professor Peter Shergold, reported to the Board about his recent activities which included interviews with Peter Noonan Consulting for Universities Australia, and a Whitlam Institute ARC project, and filming of a segment for the TVS program ‘Shelf Life’; speeches at the Fast Forward Ceremony at Penrith Campus, and at the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies Passover Dinner; and his visit to the EucFACE facility at Hawkesbury Campus. The Chancellor had hosted the successful visit of Senator Chris Evans to Parramatta Campus, which had generated goodwill for the University and its ambitions.

Vice-Chancellor’s Report

The Vice-Chancellor's regular report to the Board of Trustees included the following items:

  • the legacy of Margaret Whitlam at UWS, and the Vice-Chancellor’s attendance at the memorial service held for Margaret Whitlam
  • Senator Chris Evans’ visit to Parramatta Campus, his interest in the University’s activities to widen participation in higher education, and his subsequent opening of the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment
  • Women of the West Awards
  • UWS had qualified again for the Employer of Choice for Women citation, awarded annually by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency
  • donation from Mr William Chiu to help students learn more about Chinese culture and society
  • Associate Professor Brett Bowden, School of Humanities and Languages, had been awarded the Norbert Elias Prize for his book ‘The Empire of Civilisation: the Evolution of an Imperial Idea’
  • the University’s commitment to exploring innovative course offerings in agriculture
  • Campbelltown Hospital upgrade
  • flood damage to Penrith Campus in February 2012
  • fire in Building EE, the Sir Ian and Nancy Turbott Auditorium at Parramatta Campus.

The Vice-Chancellor reported on the launch of the My University website by the Commonwealth Government. The Board received a short presentation showing the main features of the website which provided a raft of data about each university, allowing users to compare institutions on an array of variables.

TAFE Relationships

The Board received a paper from the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education), Professor Kerri-Lee Krause, providing an update on the progressive improvement of educational relationships between UWS and the TAFE Colleges in Greater Western Sydney. It outlined several initiatives currently underway and presented recommendations for further strategic collaboration with the Western Sydney Institute (WSI) and the South Western Sydney Institute (SWSI) of TAFE. The Board expressed strong support for the approach outlined.

Audited Financial Statements for year ended 31 December 2011

The Board adopted the audited UWS 2011 financial statements and authorised their signing by the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor. The statements had been reviewed by the 27 March meeting of the Audit and Risk Management Committee which members of the Finance and Investment Committee attended and included discussions with representatives of the Audit Office of New South Wales. 

Mr Peter Boulous, Director Financial Audit Services of the NSW Audit Office indicated that he had received full support from University staff. He advised the Board that he was able to issue an unqualified independent audit report, and  also advised that the individual controlled entity audit reports were satisfactory.

Annual Report and Board Report 2011

The Board approved the draft "UWS Board of Trustees Report" to be included in the UWS Annual Report for 2011.

Student Representative Council Report

The Board noted the progress report from the newly formed Student Representative Council (SRC). SRC representatives were now invited to attend the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students) executive team meeting on a regular basis. The Board looked forward to a presentation from the SRC at the June or September meeting.

Clubs and Societies

The Board received a presentation from the Undergraduate Student member of the Board, Ms Jing Chen, illustrating the importance of student clubs and societies to student life. Ms Chen urged the University to support students at the grass roots level by providing financial, physical and staff resources to assist clubs and societies. The Board expressed strong support for the role of student societies and noted that significant financial resources were available to clubs and societies through a grant process. Students should approach the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students) for assistance.

Other Reports and Items Considered by the Board

  • Finance and Investment Committee Report – report of 27 March 2012 meeting including Management Report YTD 29 February 2012, the Executive Management Reports for February 2012, and a paper on budget risk management.
  • Audit and Risk Management Committee – report of 27 March 2012 meeting including discussion of the draft financial statements, and briefing papers on the National Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
  • Academic Senate – report of 24 February 2012 and subsequent meetings of the Senate Executive Committee, including the new membership of Academic Senate, the relevance to the University of the TEQSA Higher Education Standards Framework, changes to a range of academic policies to take account of revised leadership and management arrangements, and approval of a new course
  • Board Standing Committee and Remunerations and Nominations Committee – report of 20 March 2012 meetings, including minor amendment to the Emeritus Professor Awards and Policy which reinstituted the presentation of certificates to Emeritus Professors at graduation ceremonies
  • Campus Development Committee – report of 23 March 2012 meeting
  • Staffing Matters, including issues raised about academic staffing and resourcing by the Academic Staff Member of the Board
  • UWS had been named Best University to Work for 2011 in the annual survey conducted by UniJobs.

The Board’s next meeting will be held at 5.00pm on 7 June 2012, followed by the annual Strategy Day on 8 June, offsite.

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