Professor Lu emails staff as UOW acts on ICAC fallout: Fund closed, council stripped back

But Vice Chancellor says quiet on his involvement

The University of Wollongong has closed the council discretionary fund at the centre of ICAC evidence and stripped the council of power over senior executive appointments, vice-chancellor Professor Max Lu has told staff.

In an email to all staff just two working days after the Operation Scandi public hearings adjourned, Prof Lu said the council “discretionary fund” - the $2 million fund the inquiry heard had been used to pay for consulting work without going through standard procurement - “has now been closed.”

He said the council’s performance and remuneration committee had delegated authority for senior executive appointments back to the vice-chancellor, with recruitment processes now to be led by the university’s People and Culture team.

A process to appoint a new chancellor, replacing Michael Still following his resignation during the hearings, would begin shortly and be “conducted openly, with consultation across our community and stakeholders,” Prof Lu wrote.

This follows the revelation of an online petition, organised by former UOW staffer and whistleblower Lisa Simmons over the weekend, which called for the university council to resign or be removed. It continues to attract signatories and, on Tuesday evening, was well on its way to 500.

The petition also poses a number of questions about the appointment of Greg West, who has been acting chancellor since Still’s resignation during the hearings.

No comment

Prof Lu also used the email to address his own place in the evidence, writing: “I want to acknowledge that my name was raised in some evidence given before the Commission.” He said he would not discuss it further, “out of respect for the Commission’s processes,” but would “welcome the opportunity to discuss this with our community once the final outcomes are known.”

ICAC has made no findings against Prof Lu or any other individual named during the inquiry, and all allegations remain the subject of investigation. The Commission’s final report, with findings and recommendations, is expected at the end of August.

The email also referenced “the work of change” being underway. “We have begun a review of our policies and processes, including how we recruit; we are strengthening conflict-of-interest management, integrity and oversight functions; and we are building clearer pathways for staff to speak up - pathways that do not depend on any one office,” it read.

One UOW employee, who is still reeling from the evidence of the past three weeks, told this masthead bluntly: “News to me and all of us. We have seen no consultation or invitations to us to give our views.”
They did not want to be named for fear of repercussions.

The vice-chancellor’s email described the hearings as “distressing to read and to hear” for the university community and acknowledged “the hurt, anger and disappointment felt across our community.” He thanked staff who gave evidence to the Commission, saying they had shown “courage” and had done so “often at real personal and professional risk.”

Reports of more exits

Yet Ms Simmons, now associate director, research, at the University of Queensland, did not take Prof Lu’s sentiments kindly.

“Unfortunately over the past three weeks any trust and hope in the promise of Professor Lu’s leadership has been destroyed. Particularly after Friday’s evidence ( a reference to an exchange between former governance chief Alyssa White and Prof Lu regarding a WHS notification). His email today continues to raise even more fundamental questions,” she said on Tuesday evening.

Ms Simmons alleged, without elaborating on, further departures among staff who had assisted the ICAC investigation, saying those "whose roles were in question remain at UOW" while others were "involuntarily exiting."

The Commission is investigating whether the university’s recruitment processes were subverted to benefit associates of former chief governance officer Alyssa White, and whether work was improperly awarded to Aspirall Consulting International and KordaMentha Pty Ltd amid unmanaged conflicts of interest.

No findings have been made against any individual, and allegations remain unproven until the Commission reports.

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