Deakin University is under pressure to pause plans for job cuts following the unexplained departure of its vice-chancellor.
The Victorian university is not acknowledging media enquiries and appears not to have responded to a staff and student petition demanding that the “major workforce change” proposals be shelved, at least until an acting vice-chancellor has been appointed.
The stand-off follows the shock “resignation” of substantive vice-chancellor Iain Martin, who exited without notice and no stated reasons for leaving, in a sector where leaders’ departures are often announced a year in advance. Martin’s LinkedIn account appears to have been withdrawn from public view, although many references to his Deakin role – including his profile as vice-chancellor – remain on the university’s website.
Last August, Deakin’s “White Paper” on universities’ social licence – co-written by Martin – highlighted the importance of “being accessible, delivering a clear message and not hiding. As with many aspects of social licence, clarity is crucial,” the document says.
Staff are baffled by the restructure proposals, which appear to lack obvious financial or operational drivers and are occurring in the middle of a state parliamentary inquiry into universities’ accountability and transparency, among other governance issues.
