Council News – February 2017

ANU Strategic Plan

Since Council's approval of the ANU Strategic Plan at its December meeting, the Vice-Chancellor has formally launched the plan at his State of the University address on 9 February 2017. The University Executive is now engaged in developing the 'supporting' plans that will operationalise the initiatives approved by Council.  The Executive have also met with College Deans to discuss the cascade of supporting plans into the College planning processes that are now getting underway.

To support the implementation of the ANU Strategic Plan, and to guide the Executive in developing their plans, the Council held its Planning Day in conjunction with its February meeting. Discussions focussed on all areas of the Strategic Plan, including issues in maintaining performance excellence in research, education and the student experience; enhancing the marketing and branding of the University, managing reputational risk; delivering on our responsibilities as Australia's national university; and building a resource base and campus environment to meet the needs of a world class university.

Industry Advisory Board

The ANU Industry Advisory Board is taking shape and will meet for the first time in March at the headquarters of Westpac in Sydney. The Board's first discussion will be a half-day workshop focused on scoping future business opportunities globally, particularly in STEM disciplines, seeking to understand where new business and commercial opportunities will be created over the next 20 years; and the role ANU and its research can play in driving the realisation of those opportunities, and the extent to which the University is able to capitalise effectively on them.

Academic Board

The Chair of the Academic Board, Professor Jacqueline Lo, briefed the Council on the current work of the Board. The work of the Board is driven by the need to obtain an informed and reliable view of the quality and outcomes of the University's academic activities and the adequacy of its academic governance and other academic quality assurance systems, including the effectiveness of the academic policy framework. To this end, the Board has been particularly focused on issues of academic integrity, as well as communication, feedback and information flow between Board members, management and the staff and students of the University.

2016 ANU Staff Engagement Survey

The Council received a briefing on the results on the 2016 ANU Staff Engagement Survey. Undertaking a staff engagement survey assists the University to better understand and assess performance on a range of staffing and management practices and involve staff in the organisational development process. The 2016 results show an increased organisational commitment and job satisfaction for our staff since the last survey, with the value we place on research being a clear differentiator for ANU. The survey also identified some high priority issues to be addressed, including improving communication and consultation across the University. Results and actions flowing from the survey will be shared and discussed with staff in their local areas over coming months

Professor the Hon Gareth Evans AC QC

Chancellor