VC message: Senate Estimates and DVCA news

Hi everyone,

This fortnight has been another busy time for our campus. Last week, ANU was called to Senate Estimates which is an extraordinary experience, and one that takes real time across the organisation to prepare for. I want to thank our 80 or so colleagues who are involved in this process in the lead up to, and on the night itself, and a special shout out to Tony, Grady and Michael for representing ANU with me. You can read the opening statement on our Parliamentary engagement page.

Although Estimates is a longstanding part of government departmental cycles, ANU has only been called four times in our history, and three of those times in the last eight months. Talking with colleagues across the sector, it is clear this is becoming the new normal, with many universities called to state-based hearings and parliamentary inquiries. This means we should expect to see ANU in Parliament regularly move forward. We have an opportunity (and the necessity) to build capability and capacity across campus to better tell our story and reflect on our responsibilities with public funding.

As I reflect on my time in Parliament, it is clear that ANU has a unique role in shaping national conversations. Many of you will recall a body of work we have stood up previously, where our experts share their knowledge, perspectives and analysis during and in the immediate aftermath of the federal election. We will be launching this in the next week, facilitated by the ANU Marketing and Communications team, and I thank our academic staff for contributing to these important conversations.  This will be published to our website, and shared in next week’s OnCampus.

I also wanted to share that Professor Grady Venville, our DVCA, will be resigning from her role after six years to travel around Australia. Grady has been an extraordinary member of the ANU leadership, and a wonderful advocate for our teaching staff, students and academic services. I have deeply valued Grady’s contributions to creating the graduate attributes work, which will underpin every undergraduate experience from our University in the years to come. On a personal level, I will miss Grady and her incredible generosity to welcome me and so many others to ANU. Grady’s last day in the office will be Friday 4 April, and an EOI for a 2-year DVCA will be opened this week. In the meantime, Professor Royston Gustavson has agreed to step into the DVCA role until the EOI process is finalised. We anticipate the next DVCA to commence in late April/early May 2025.

Good thoughts to where this may find you,

G