Unis should talk less about themselves and more about who they serve: New WSU leader

Universities need to stop talking so much about themselves and focus on who they serve, says constitutional law expert George Williams, who began his new job as vice-chancellor of Western Sydney University on Monday.

Professor Williams, who comes to the role after 24 years at Group of Eight institution the University of NSW, said universities should get back to fundamentals and keep foremost in their minds they are public institutions serving a public good.

He said the university sector talked about itself a lot but, in an environment of declining trust in universities and other public institutions, it should focus more on outcomes for students and the community.

“My focus is absolutely on those we’re serving. It’s about our students. It’s about the western Sydney community. It’s about the impact of the research we do,” he said.

Despite his Group of Eight background – he was dean of law and then a deputy vice-chancellor at UNSW – Professor Williams said WSU was “the university I want to be at”.

“This is the university with the greatest potential in the nation,” he said, pointing out that western Sydney was the third-largest economy in the nation, with a new airport nearing completion and a new city – Bradfield – being built next to the airport around advanced manufacturing and technology.

He said western Sydney was a “dynamic, youthful, entrepreneurial region” that had the largest Indigenous population in Australia and also had the challenge of “quite deep issues of unfairness” around access to education and infrastructure.

“I see us as an anchor institution for this region where we can serve and drive really powerful, important outcomes, not just for the immediate community, but actually the nation,” Professor Williams said.

He said universities needed to care more for their staff and students, citing the huge issue of underpayment of wages to casual staff, with dozens of institutions having to repay hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years.

Professor Williams said another issue of concern was the “fraying of social cohesion” in universities due to differences over Gaza.

“The bottom line for me has got to be the safety and wellbeing of our staff and students, that’s non-negotiable,” he said.

He said he strongly backed the position Western Sydney University chancellor Jennifer Westacott took in an article in The Australian in May, in which she said the growing levels of hate speech and anti-Semitism on campuses must not be accepted.

“I’m really quite proud of what she wrote in that article,” Professor Williams said.

He said one of his first priorities as vice-chancellor would be to focus on students’ experience at university, which he said needed attention across the higher education sector.

“Any industry where you have commonly a third or more of students saying they’re dissatisfied with their education, shows there is something wrong that needs to be fixed,” he said.

He said that Western Sydney University would be proactive in new initiatives such as agile responsive programs and short microcredential courses focused on key skills in demand.

It would also be an early adopter of a skills passport, which students and graduates can use to demonstrate their academic record and work experience to employers.

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