Presentation by the Executive Dean, Faculty of HASS. Great to see some of the external senators arguing that if we want to be a real university we need to invest in the humanities and social sciences, even if it means cross-subsidisation from other disciplines.
Due to the severe storm and the venue for the meeting being Customs House, a quorum for the meeting was not achieved. Matters requiring a decision were either discussed with a view to a flying minute being circulated later, or were held over to the February 2015 meeting.
Given publicity of recent months regarding reviews by at least ANU and Sydney University of their investment portfolios, I asked what oversight UQ has of its investments and whether it makes judgements about the ethics of those investments. Senate also has a fiduciary duty to ensure investments, eg in certain industries, don't become so-called 'stranded' stock.
The Chief Operating Officer replied that UQ's share portfolio is managed through two investment hourses that subscribe to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment.
The Vice-Chancellor added that a petition on the matter had been received from staff and students (I was unaware of its existence) and that the Senate Finance Committee would be considering the matter.
I look forward to following this up.
A proposal from the Chancellor to substantially reduce the size of the Senate (partly in line with trends elsewhere in Australia, but otherwise at the ambitious end of the scale) was deferred to the February meeting. I and some other Senators have concerns.
There was discussion about how we might approach the setting of fees in a deregulated domestic student market, should that eventuate, and of changes to the way UQ will levy fees for international students from 2016.
