Prof Nicholson made the comments in Dunedin in the context of the university’s fall down global rankings and slipping share of research funding, while telling staff to be more positive amid the barrage of bad news, which includes looming job cuts.
In a recording of the meeting obtained by the Otago Daily Times, staff were updated on the university’s situation, following the announcement in April that it faced a $60million budget deficit and potentially "several hundred staff" would be cut.
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Prof Nicholson confirmed staff cuts would take place, and divisional leaders were now looking for savings.
It was time to update staff and put the record straight because the ODT had been going on so much, she said.
Staff needed to be positive and move forward, and "perhaps not read the ODT too much".
Among the updates was the university’s new proposal to disband the shared services division.
This could mean losing a layer of management, but many staff had told the university there were too many layers, she said.
"I’m sure people will be saying to me, ‘but you should have done this a long time ago’. And I think hindsight is a wonderful thing."
Chief operating officer Stephen Willis said the proposal aimed to save $700,000 a year.
Prof Nicholson also said the university wanted to reduce the breadth of research, while increasing its quality.
It aspired to reach a cycle whereby high-quality research would contribute to good university rankings, boosting student recruitment.
This would bring in more income to invest in research and the "the university’s broader strategic strategic priorities".
"Unfortunately as a university, we’re not quite in that upward spiral. We’re in the downward spiral."
"Our reputation in terms of rankings has gone down over the last four years."
Comparing the university to a home, she said a person who was spending more than they were earning, as the university was, might try to keep costs down at the supermarket.
"You might stop eating cheese because it’s really expensive ... so you tried to cut the costs."
The university was likewise looking to cut costs via redundancies, as well as reducing the capital plan and selling assets.
Feedback from Education Minister Jan Tinetti was not particularly positive, she said.
"She just, I think, sees us as autonomous institutions and we need to sort things out."
In response to questions about risks from cutting papers and programmes, she said some attracted very few students.
"There’s quite a bit of data since Covid, or during Covid, saying that our students now don’t want too much choice.
"They’re in a different state than they were three or four years ago, and having too much choice increases anxiety," Prof Nicholson said.
Chancellor Stephen Higgs declined to elaborate on when or if Prof David Murdoch would return as VC, stating that he remained on medical leave.
A staff member said they were "appalled" with senior management’s treatment of opinions different from their own.
"The ODT was mentioned specifically. University leadership clearly does not value a free press and seems to get quite upset if their press releases do not get reported verbatim."
The environment on campus did not allow staff to voice concerns, the staff member said.
Another staff member, who defended the ODT as doing its job, said there was a sense leaders were starting to feel more uncomfortable.
The cheese analogy, tied to the rising cost of living, seemed like another way to shift blame from the university, the staff member said.
Tertiary Education Union (TEU) branch president Craig Marshall said losing jobs had to be the last step, and as many other solutions as possible needed to be looked for.
TEU co-branch president Brandon Johnstone said when told to stay positive, staff listened silently, but a group chat showed many in the room were displeased.
Trying to find cuts was a misuse of energy which should be directed at successive governments, which had been underfunding the university for decades.
Responding to ODT questions after the meeting, Prof Nicholson said disbanding the shared services division could result in four redundancies, and cutting some vacant roles.
Staff were unsettled by the current situation, and the university did not suggest otherwise.
"We wanted to convey that there are a lot of positive things happening in the university and also to share some of the solutions and plans we have developed so far."
— Additional reporting Mary Williams
