University of Wollongong (UOW) fronted the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the University Sector, where questions were raised about offshore campuses, the centralisation of control under the current Chancellor, a suspicious string of hiring and firings under the reign of a publicly criticised interim Vice-Chancellor, and bizarre engagements with disgraced former royals.
Questions have previously been raised about UOW’s decisions to open numerous offshore campuses. It was revealed during the hearing that the UOW India campus is currently not cash positive and being run as a direct branch of the university. UOW India campus was opened in November 2024, around the same time that UOW management were proceeding with 137 job cuts and gutting courses in history, mathematics, geography and languages at their core campus in the Illawarra.
Since these mass redundancies, it is estimated that roughly $29m has been paid out to cover redundancy costs.
The most concerning revelations from yesterday’s hearing was a series of mass resignations after the appointment of interim Vice-Chancellor John Dewar, who had no existing connection to the Illawarra. When asked whether Dewar was engaged on the basis of a slash and burn mentality, Chancellor Michael Still responded with words to the effect that Dewar “…saw a need for certain people to leave the organisation”. Lines of questioning directed towards Still painted a dark picture of a corporate cabal operating to centralise power within the university and which may now be under ICAC investigation.
Questions about Dewar’s ongoing relationship with consultancy firm KordaMentha have previously been raised, the same consultancy contracted for a review of operations in July 2024 – less than one month after Dewar’s appointment as interim VC.
UOW executives had no answers for as of Wednesday 17th still publicly available information of engagement with disgraced former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and for which it was suggested that significant sums of money had been spent on renovations in preparation for. This engagement took place in 2017; reports of Prince Andrew’s impropriety with underage minors had been noted as early as 2015.
Quotes attributable to Dr Susan Engel, NTEU UOW Branch President:
“UOW management should be committed first and foremost to the Illawarra region, domestic campuses and the young people whose education is nurtured here. They are destroying our institution piece by piece while reaping the rewards.
“Staff at UOW campuses love this university and our local communities, and we put our students first. Knowing that these powerful suits are coming in and cutting the very heart out of our university with no real value or respect for public education is a slap in the face. It breaks our hearts.
“When you look at the decisions of this UOW executive, it just feels like the Illawarra and our local communities are being robbed blind. Bizarre engagements, pompous ceremonies, and offshore campuses – those in charge need to be held accountable for their actions; uni governance reform can’t come soon enough for all of us here in Wollongong.
Quotes attributable to Vince Caughley, NTEU NSW Division Secretary:
“When phrases like ICAC whistle-blower status, Prince Andrew, Saudi Arabia Riyadh campus and even Tottenham Hotspur are being raised in a parliamentary inquiry into university governance, something has gone very badly wrong. These are not words that should ever sit anywhere near the management of a public university.”
“UOW management are asking staff, students and the Illawarra community to accept job cuts and course closures, while the inquiry hears about opaque offshore ventures, questionable engagements, and a governance culture that seems completely detached from the public interest.”
“Universities exist to serve their communities. What staff see instead is leadership parachuted in with no connection to the region, making decisions that hollow out local capacity while treating the institution like a corporate asset rather than a public good.”
“This isn’t just about Wollongong. It’s about whether public universities are being governed in the public interest, or whether they’ve drifted into a corporate model where secrecy, consultants and unchecked executive power are the norm.”
“When a chancellor can approve large discretionary spending, reshape governance arrangements, and preside over an interim leadership that triggers mass departures – all without meaningful transparency – the system itself is failing.”
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