NSW: UNSW vice-chancellor resigns=2

AAP General News (Australia)
04-08-2004
NSW: UNSW vice-chancellor resigns=2

Prof Hume's resignation comes 21 months into his five-year appointment and was announced
at a special university council meeting convened by the chancellor this afternoon.

In February, Prof Hume faced criticism over the penalty dealt to controversial UNSW
medical researcher Professor Bruce Hall, who was found guilty of academic misconduct after
misrepresenting data in a government grant application.

Prof Hall was barred from holding administrative positions at UNSW but was not dismissed
despite an external independent inquiry into his academic misconduct finding serious misdemeanours.

Whistleblowers Australia said at least six separate allegations at the university of
malpractice, bullying, fraud or misconduct (including Prof Hall's incident) involving
the physics, biomedical, engineering and ophthalmology departments had been ignored by
the vice-chancellor's office.

Dr Yu today said Prof Hume would finish work on June 30.

"Professor Hume has advised me that he is unable to continue working as vice-chancellor
due to a breakdown in his relationship with members of the University Council," Dr Yu
said in a statement.

Prof Hume left his executive vice-chancellor post at the University of California,
Los Angeles, to take up the UNSW position in 2002.

His contract with UNSW included a pay packet of about $750,000.

Despite the recent controversies, the vice-chancellor had enjoyed support from various
quarters of academia.

"The vice-chancellor's actually been quite a popular figure within the university and
his leadership has been generally well accepted until recent events," National Tertiary
Education Union branch president Professor Bruce Milthorpe told ABC radio today.

"The current situation ... will leave a lot of staff very shocked."

Prof Hume was not available for comment.

AAP sh/nf/sjb/br

KEYWORD: HUME 2 SYDNEY

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