Presentation by President of the UQ Union, Kathryn Cramp, on UQU's relationship with UQ.
These included Student Misconduct Report 2014; Senate committee and Academic Board reports; PPL changes; bequests and donations; fundraising campaign.
Update mentioning UQ Awards for Excellence Awards Ceremony on 3 June (I attended and found it to be a fitting occasion - great to see so many professional staff honoured); and the Staff Engagement Survey (no results yet, but response rate was higher than on previous occasions).
I followed up on the matter I'd raised at the November 2014 meeting (see my report of that meeting) regarding oversight of UQ's investment portfolio with respect to ethical investment decisions and the risk of 'stranded' investments. In November, Senate was told that the portfolio is managed by two investment houses who are signed up to the UN policy on responsible investment, and that petitions from staff and students about divesting from fossil fuel holdings would be considered by Senate's Finance Committee.
It was reported that Finance Committee had considered the petitions but that it had decided that it was "too hard to tell where fossil fuel investments start and end" - seemingly an argument that many industries rely on fossil fuels to some extent or another.
UQ's fund managers have been asked to find a 'socially-responsible' investment vehicle that donors to the University could nominate their funds to go into.
Senate carefully considered a proposal to build new student housing that would be run by the University and located on Walcott St near Grace, Emmanuel and International House colleges. The proposal was well-received in terms of the financial arrangements and architectural drawings. It will help UQ to stay competitive in terms of domestic and international student enrolments, and bring life to an area of the campus that is currently a bit of a dead-end. The proposal was approved subject to finalisation of the business case and design. As part of the project, the Margaret Cribb childcare centre will be relocated to another part of the campus perimeter.
Senate was briefed on progress on the current revision of the Plan, which applies to the St Lucia campus, the Hawken Drive properties owned by UQ, the Avalon Theatre site and Long Pocket site. Extensive consultation with the local St Lucia community has occurred and is ongoing.
Yes, standby, another go at the UQ brand for student recruitment is about to be launched. Senate previewed the catch-phrase and viewed a glossy TV ad. I have to say that the change has been well-researched and the initial collateral looks good. I feel it captures the real UQ, which is of course a Real University of the World (that is not the catch-phrase by the way). Launch date is in the first half of July.
A progress report on the appointment process was noted.
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