Julie Bishop resigned as ANU Chancellor Friday, warning, “following unprecedented and coordinated interference, the ANU Council is no longer able to discharge its legal and ethical obligations.”
“The higher education sector is at a crossroads of regulatory overreach in the governance of our institutions or autonomy and academic freedom,” she said.
“Regulatory overreach” appears to refer to the Tertiary Education and Quality Standards Agency (teqsa) taking control last week of the process to select her replacement, when her term expired in December.
However, TEQSA also commissioned an inquiry into allegations of bullying against Ms Bishop made at a Senate committee hearing in October. The inquiry, by governance consultant Vivienne Thom, went to ANU Council on Thursday and was not released, but FC understands there are no findings against Bishop under the whistleblower-protecting Public Interest Disclosure Act and no grounds for referring her to the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
In an extraordinary communications failure by the university, Ms Bishop’s resignation was announced by Phil Coorey in the Australian Financial Review, Friday morning.
As of FC deadline, the University had not acknowledged her departure in a public statement.
The National Tertiary Education filled the gap stating, “Julie Bishop’s long-overdue resignation is a chance to heal. Brave union members standing together ended this dark chapter.”
In a message to staff, however, the University Council thanked Ms Bishop for her eight years as Chancellor, during which she, “raised the University's profile domestically and internationally and strengthened global connections.” But most of the statement focused on the “need to rebuild trust and confidence with our thousands of staff, students and alumni and with the ACT and Australian communities.”
“Rebuilding trust and confidence in the quality of the governance of the university with our regulator TEQSA, other key accountability and oversight bodies, including the minister for education, and the Australian Parliament is paramount.”
Council did not acknowledge Ms Bishop’s warning of regulatory overreach.