You can do this.
We all need you to pull yourself together and get on with being your best self.
There seems to have been two issues that have for some reason sent you down this unhelpful path.
The first arose from a report into bullying in the department of physical education a year ago. Those who had raised the issue were clear that their mana was at issue. This report found systemic racism, discrimination and bullying across the institution.
Having received this report, vice-chancellor David Murdoch said previous attempts to address these issues had been unsatisfactory and sometimes ignored. In an email to staff he said "this will change and this change will start now".
For some bizarre reason this appears to have resulted in an attempt to relabel the university and rebrand it. We also have a shrouded white cube, by now a political piece of art in its own right, covering what appears to be a tangata whenua-based cultural standard.
The shrouded item has been sitting around waiting to be uncovered and presented appropriately for some time. There appear to be issues as to whether it is the right thing in the right place, and any connection to the rebranding is also shrouded in mystery.
The bullying matter needs to be addressed directly, rather than pretending that rebranding the university is somehow historically Treaty based, which will have no effect on the problems raised. The bullying issue is one of commitment to listening to complaints, taking them seriously and having consequences for those who are not stepping up.
It requires leadership, and some technical skills to provide a framework for the leadership to use. University staff are entirely capable of providing guidance in these matters if management and the political leadership are unsure about what to do.
Reducing the mana of the university as a whole will not increase the mana of those who have been discriminated against.
As for the mystery surrounding the shrouded cube, there is no harm in us all understanding what is behind the problem here before the item turns into a token pole.
The second issue is around finance. The problems here started with the squeeze government is putting on all the universities by not only reducing the funding in real terms year on year but also by limiting what can be raised through student fees.
The University of Otago in response tried to cover up telling us about the $60 million hole, thereby intentionally overriding the principle of producing fair and transparent reporting. They didn’t trust the public and their own staff to have the information they knew we should all be given.
They then said they were making staff cuts and talked of voluntary redundancies.
It you are trying to keep the quality and calibre of staff, and concentrate on the work you believe to be most important, this has to be a less than ideal approach. It also lacks a feeling of a genuine attempt at an institution doing the best it can to retain the staff who can contribute the most to the outcome intended.
What would be the sense, for example, in trying to reduce the less popular courses by making what might be the most needed and sought after courses bereft of teaching staff?
The overlap of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in rebranding a loved and respected brand while crying poor did not go unnoticed either.
Our university has a staff with a great understanding of the university and its challenges around funding. It has been there before. Approached with respect and sharing of the information available and we could be confident the staff would support the university in lobbying government strenuously to increase funding while whatever was needed to be done could be done to reduce costs.
It is not rocket science, Otago University.
Have a serious and genuine crack at getting on top of discrimination and bullying.
Treat the staff as people who have the intellectual power and ability to help the university to deal with its financial issues.
Don’t reduce the mana of the university by rebranding with unwanted and incomprehensible nonsense in the process. There is no shame and in fact much mana in acknowledging you didn’t read the room well and you got this wrong.
We all want you to succeed.
If this job seems too daunting to the decision-makers and top management of the university perhaps it is worth considering standing aside and leaving this to others who may be prepared to lead the way to the future building on the strengths of the past.
- Hilary Calvert is a former Otago regional councillor, MP and DCC councillor.
