Julie Bishop: ANU leadership shake-up looms as ex-foreign minister turned chancellor flies in
Expectations of a leadership shake-up at the Australian National University are growing after chancellor Julie Bishop flew to Canberra this week to hold urgent meetings with senior staff.
ANU insiders say the Perth-based former Foreign Minister quietly travelled to the nation’s capital to individually brief top university officials and discuss the possible fate of besieged vice-chancellor Genevieve Bell.
Both chancellor Bishop and vice-chancellor Bell have faced growing criticism for their handling of massive staff redundancies aimed at finding $200 million in savings to drag the prestigious institution out of deficit.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“It’s highly irregular for the Chancellor to meet one-on-one with staff, particularly those several rungs below her, and it’s not usual practice for her to do so without the Vice Chancellor in the room,” one senior ANU figure told The Nightly.
“The expectation is that Professor Bell is going to be shown the door, and the terms of her departure are now being negotiated”.
The Nightly has been told the ANU’s six Deans as well as Provost Rebekah Brown, have all expressed concerns to Ms Bishop about the direction of the university under the leadership of Professor Bell.
Earlier this year an overwhelming majority of ANU staff expressed “no confidence” in both the chancellor and vice-chancellor as part a National Tertiary Education Union petition which involved over 800 members angry at job cuts.
ANU staff are paying close attention to the movements of Professor Brown who has been seen accompanying Ms Bishop on campus over recent days and is considered a possible candidate for the $1million a year Vice Chancellor position if it becomes vacant.
However, on Friday evening an ANU spokesperson insisted there had been no formal discussions involving Ms Bishop about an impending departure for Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell.
“The Chancellor was at the ANU campus on Tuesday and, as is usual practice on such visits, she met a range of academic and professional staff and students,” the ANU spokesperson told The Nightly.
“It’s common practice for the Chancellor to meet senior staff without the VC. There has not been any discussion about a possible departure of Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell”.
Last month the actions of Julie Bishop also came under scrutiny during a senate hearing where an academic accused the chancellor of being “hostile and arrogant to staff”, accusations the former Liberal MP denies.
“I was bullied into near suicide. I miscarried a much-wanted baby. I’ve lost the opportunity of a promotion. I fear for my job, and my career has been derailed,” academic Liz Allen told a parliamentary committee.
During the August committee hearing into university governance neither the ANU’s chancellor, vice-chancellor or provost attended, leaving it to other more junior executive staff to give evidence.
In 2024 Professor Bell came under sustained criticism for the handling of pro-Palestinian protests on campus and a ‘Gaza Solidary Encampment’, including the expulsion of student Beatrice Tucker who had expressed support for Hamas.
The Nightly can reveal former ANU Chancellor and Labor Foreign Minister Gareth Evans later flew to Canberra to personally support the young female student in her successful appeal against the decision.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare last month referred numerous claims about ANU’s leadership and governance to the federal higher education regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency.
In 2019 Ms Bishop was named as the first female chancellor of the ANU following a 20-year political career where she served as the Deputy Liberal leader and represented the Perth seat of Curtin.
Documents released in 2021 revealed the ANU had spent almost $800,000 establishing an office for its new chancellor in her hometown of Perth.
Professor Bell was appointed ANU vice-chancellor at the start of 2024 to succeed Professor Brian Schmidt and has accused critics of her savings drive of using her gender as a tactic to undermine her.
The former Silicon Valley executive has also faced political criticism following revelations she maintained a lucrative paid role with US technology company Intel while also serving as the ANU’s vice-chancellor.
