These included statements by the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor and President of the Academic Board on routine matters; policy changes; reports from Senate committees; bequests and donations; and an update on current legal matters. The University's Draft Annual Report including financial statements was approved for publication. The St Lucia Campus Master Plan was discussed, along with a report on Advancement activities and a report of UQ's progress towards its own planning objectives/KPIs. A number of more confidential matters were also dealth with.
The new Deputy Chancellor, Tonianne Dwyer, was elected, replacing Jane Wilson, who had resigned due to competing commitments on her time.
The final budget was approved. The good news is that international student enrolments for first semester are above target, meaning some extra funds will be available.
The V-C updated members on the implementation of ESS in Finance & HR. I noted that one of Senate's committees had identified the desirability of the professional services transformation having a coordinated and aligned approach across functions, overseen by a single, effective transformation governance committee, and asked that the committee concerned assess whether this is occuring.
There was considerable debate regarding a proposal to alter the way in which some members come to be members of Senate. The outcome was that no change to the current arrangements be made, of which I spoke in support, for reasons of participatory democracy and stakeholder engagement.
