The University of New England responds to demands from senior staff and alumni

In a recent email addressed to the Convocation, the UNE Council said they would not support demands calling for the resignation of chancellor James Harris, but would support a Standing Committee that would provide advice to management.

"Council is very supportive of changes which drive greater openness and regular communication in how we make decisions that impact the university community," the response signed by deputy chancellor Jan McClelland AM said.

The UNE Council is a body of 13 members that includes Ms McClelland AM, chancellor James Harris and vice-chancellor Simon Evans and represents the business and operational side of the university.

On the academic side, Professor Thomas Fudge, who led the Convocation as a member of the Professoriate, a body of senior academic staff at the university, described the UNE Council's response as less than impressive.

"It takes them two months to come back with a limp-wristed wet-noodled response. It's not good enough," Professor Fudge said.

"Talk is cheap, where's the evidence?"

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The UNE Council also addressed the Convocation's other resolutions, such as the need to improve communication between professional and academic staff, and the importance of providing updates on the appointment of the next vice-chancellor.

Current vice-chancellor Simon Evans took up the temporary position following the resignation of Brigid Heywood in August last year.

The university has not yet publicly announced whether it has started the search for a permanent VC.

Professor Fudge said the Convocation has nothing against the chancellor nor the current VC, but that they want a say in who gets the job next following a series of "increasingly bad vice-chancellors".

"If we get one more vice chancellor who is going to behave in the manner of the last two or three, then the University of New England is going to be in a serious situation," he said.

"As for standing down the chancellor, I don't know that anybody expected that to happen. I don't care if the chancellor stays or goes, but there has to be accountability."

Professor Fudge said the university council also responded, saying they would look at doing a top-down audit of faculties such as the Social Sciences and others.

He said the money spent on paying "bloated bureaucrats to sit in their offices" needs to be redirected toward hiring academic staff and funding for valuable research.

"It's broken, it needs to be dismantled, it needs to be replaced," Professor Fudge said.

Talks are expected to continue between the university management and academic staff, with further meetings later this week.

It comes after SafeWork NSW extended the university's deadline by six months to July 1, 2023, following an improvement notice issued last year, stating they had contravened a provision of the Work Health and Safety Act.

Among the breaches, that workers and others were exposed to serious risk to their health and safety from psychological injury, and that they were exposed to role overload, role conflict and or lack of role clarity, low job control and setting of unreasonable timeframes.

Professor Fudge could not say whether there had been any improvements yet, saying "it's a bit premature until we actually have something from the university", but that the SafeWork notice was being taken seriously.

"When you see erosion to the core business of the university, that also creates a climate of being unsafe, there's a lot of demoralisation around here," Professor Fudge said.

"I just feel after 30 years as an academic... has it really come to this?"

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