Another day, another letter to ANU council

I've lost count of how many letters have been sent to ANU council over the past 15 months. This one probably won't make a difference, but it should.

Another week and yet another tortured letter to ANU council members and chancellor Julie Bishop begging them to do the right thing by the institution, its staff, and its community.

I’ve lost count of how many letters have been sent by aggrieved ANU community members since December 2024, but they all have a common thread: see the error of your ways and act in accordance with your obligations and duty as members of the university’s governing body.

This one, signed by 33 ANU emeritus professors and distinguished alumni, says the council has “presided over a period of unprecedented decline in ANU’s ranking and reputation” and describes the current state of the university as “dysfunctional”.

“In the absence of any semblance of taking responsibility for financial management and for the ongoing reputational damage, our sense is that the council is close to, if not currently, in a dysfunctional state,” the letter, dated 7 May, reads.

Somewhat ruefully, the letter asks the council not to delay any longer in working to restore ANU to “its premier position” within Australia’s higher education sector. Just as any functional governing body should have as its highest priority.

“This cannot happen without the council meeting its responsibility to acknowledge and support the efforts of the current vice chancellor to restore staff morale and management competency.”

That shouldn’t be much to ask. But we know this council, led by chancellor Julie Bishop, has done no such thing since selecting Genevieve Bell as vice chancellor in 2024. Instead, it deflects, denies, and discombobulates its way through the rolling series of crises that have damaged the institution over the past 18 months. At the same time, it continues to act in mind-blowingly shameful and unthinkable ways even as the tide of public and regulatory opinion build a strong argument of malfunction, even malfeasance.

This letter comes at a critical time. The Hare Report hears that all council members will receive a copy of the Thom Report tomorrow. It seems they will be corralled into a locked room and will read it at the same time.

As you will know, the Thom Report, authored by integrity expert Vivienne Thom, is meant to be a surgical examination of allegations raised in the Senate on August 12 last year about how the council and its chancellor conducted themselves. Hopefully, it takes a contemporary view on how it continues to conduct itself as the university descends into a sinkhole of dysfunction.

Whether any or all of the report has been leaked ahead of tomorrow remains to be seen, but there is no indication that the appointed members of council have learned any lessons on ethical leadership, moral governance or doing the right thing since this whole melodrama blew up a year and a half ago.

In fact, it just seems to be getting worse. Attempts to saddle interim vice chancellor Rebekah Brown with misconduct over emails she sent when provost and two deans just seem desperate.

After all, as provost, the deans reported to Brown. And when the vice chancellor was rolling from one mishap to another disaster, it would be not only appropriate but proper for her to have their backs as they tried to navigate job cuts, reputation damage, and falling rankings.

It’s been interesting to see so many people from so many walks of Canberra and ANU life come out this week in support of Brown. Other than a few rabid posts on Reddit, the pro-Bishop camp is less vocal.

This letter matters because the signatories are significant individuals who care about ANU.

The climax to this sad and sorry period, which should never have gone on so long, is coming to an end. The 33 professors and the signatories of all the other letters sent to council members are on the right side of history. Now we are just waiting for history to catch up.