A selection of Council's decisions and discussions on
17 March 2008

COUNCIL FELLOW APPOINTMENT

Professor Arthur Li had accepted his reappointment as Council Fellow for a further year, to 31 December 2008.

REVIEW OF THE MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY ACT 1958

Council Nominations and Governance Committee was authorised to review and approve the University’s submission to the State Government’s Review of Higher Education legislation. The final submission was done by the end of April.

DEPUTY VICE-CHANCELLOR (RESEARCH)

Professor Peter Rathjen, currently Dean of the Faculty of Science, had been appointed as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research). Council noted that Professor Rathjen is an outstanding University leader and stem cell researcher and his appointment would ensure that the University would continue to have strong leadership in the priority areas of research and research training.

UNIVERSITY COMMITTEES, BOA RDS, ETC

Council appointed Associate Professor Mark Joshi to Finance Committee in the category of “one member of Council”.

Council appointed Professor Glenn Bowes as a Council nominee on the VCA Integration Committee.

Council endorsed the addition of the Director (Knowledge Transfer) and President of Academic Board to the membership of the Knowledge Transfer Committee.

MAJOR REVIEW OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon. Julia Gillard, had announced a major review of Australian Higher Education which would consider the many issues and challenges facing the Australian higher education sector. A panel of four, chaired by Emeritus Professor Denise Bradley, had been created with wide-ranging terms of reference, and which is required to report by the end of 2008.

INFORMATION FUTURES COMMISSION

The Information Futures Commission, foreshadowed at the meeting of Council in December 2007, was formally launched at an Information Futures Forum on Tuesday 29 January 2008.

The consultation phase of the process commenced with the recent release by the Information Futures Commission of the discussion paper Scholarly Information in a Digital Age: choices for the University of Melbourne. All staff and students had been invited to respond to the Consultation Paper.

APPOINTMENT TO MELBOURNE BUSINESS SCHOOL BOARD

The Vice-Chancellor had approved the appointment of Professor Pip Pattison, Chair of Academic Board, to the Melbourne Business School Board from first semester 2008.

NAMING PROPOSALS

The Vice-Chancellor had approved the proposal to name a room in the Redmond Barry Building in honour of Professor Alexander Wearing.

The third-year laboratory and the second-year laboratory located in west wing of the fourth floor of the Medical Building would be respectively named the Trikojus Laboratory and the Young Laboratory.

The New Building and The Avenue Apartments would be renamed the Founders Building and Robert M. Fels apartments, respectively.

INTERIM DEAN OF SCIENCE

Professor Elizabeth Sonenberg, currently Deputy Dean of the Faculty, had been appointed as Dean, of the Faculty of Science effective 1 May 2008, until such time as a new Dean takes up the position.

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

The Vice-Chancellor had approved the move of Social Work from the Faculty of Arts to the School of Nursing and Social Work within the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences.

CHAIR OF MU BOOKSHOP BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

The Vice-Chancellor, on behalf of Council, had approved the appointment of Professor Greg Whitwell as Chair of MU Bookshop Board of Management from 1 February 2008.

GEOGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, ACSIS AND E-WATER

The disciplines of Geography and Environmental Studies, the Australian Centre for Science Innovation and Society and the e-Water Co-operative Research Centre had been transferred from the Faculty of Arts to the Faculty of Land and Food Resources from 1 January 2008.

RENAMING OF DEPARTMENTS

The Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering has been renamed the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

STUDENT AWA RDS

The following scholarships, prizes and awards were established:

• John and Alison Kearney Overseas Scholarship

LEGISLATION AND TRUSTS MATTERS

Updates of Legislation