AAP General News (Australia)
12-16-2011
QLD:Memo reveals more on uni nepotism scandal
BRISBANE, Dec 16 AAP - The early departure of Vice Chancellor Paul Greenfield over
a nepotism scandal will help the University of Queensland make a fresh start, says Premier
Anna Bligh.
Prof Greenfield will leave on Friday, more than six months before his original resignation date.
He and deputy vice-chancellor Michael Keniger resigned after a probe found irregularities
in the enrolment of a student known to them.
The student, who has never been named, is a close relative of Prof Greenfield.
"These are matters the university has to deal with," Ms Bligh told reporters on Friday.
"This puts them (the university) in a position where they can advertise (the position),
bring on a
new vice chancellor.
"This is one of Australia's great universities, and I have no doubt there will be a
very competitive and very strong field and that we will see a
new leadership at the university
in 2012."
A memo has surfaced detailing how the unqualified relative was hand-picked for a medical
course, The Courier-Mail newspaper reports.
The nepotism scandal is also the subject of a Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) inquiry.
The relative, who is not named in the memo, was allowed in after a meeting last January
between the scholarships office, the Dean of Medicine and Prof greenfield, who was then
acting vice-chancellor.
"The applicant had an OP1 ranking but did not have the requisite UMAT (Undergraduate
Medicines and Health Sciences Admission Test) aggregate score or a score of at least 50
in each sub-category and was not the recipient of a scholarship," the memo says.
"The circumstances and consequences of this offer were the subject of an independent
investigation and resulted in the vice-chancellor and senior deputy vice-chancellor resigning
from their positions at the university."
Prof Greenfield was to have stayed on at the university until July 2012, while Mr Keniger's
resignation takes effect on December 31 this year.
Earlier this month, Prof Greenfield's resignation was brought forward to January 13,
but his tenure will now cease on Friday.
Chancellor John Story said last week in a statement: "It had become increasingly clear
to Professor Greenfield and the senate that the vice-chancellor could no longer fully
discharge his duties in a way that either he would like or which the university could
accept.
"For that reason Professor Greenfield has decided, with the Senate's consent, to bring
forward his departure from the university."
The CMC is reportedly waiting on the university to respond to a
new series of questions
and says the case isn't yet closed.
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