Untitled - Annual Report 2004 - The University of Western Australia

University GovernanceTHE UNIVERSITY was established by the Universityof Western Australia Act 1911. The Act providesthe legislative machinery for administering theUniversity; it establishes the Governing Body (theSenate) which is empowered to ‘have the entirecontrol and management of the affairs of theUniversity’.It gives the Senate powers to act in the interests of the University through the making of statutes, regulations andby-laws and through the management of income and expenditure. It provides powers of delegation for the GoverningBody, so that day-to-day management of the University can be delegated to officers employed by the University.Membership of the Governing Body in 2004 is listed in Appendix A of this section (page 14). Other State Acts which dealwith aspects of the management of the University are the University Buildings Act 1952, the University Medical SchoolTeaching Hospitals Act 1955 and the QEII Medical Centre Act 1966.The University is responsible to the State Minister for Education for the proper conduct of its business under thelegal framework established by State legislation. However, the University receives the majority of its funding from theCommonwealth and it is therefore responsible to the Commonwealth Minister for Education for the delivery of itsteaching and research programmes and for the provision of adequate infrastructure to support those programmes.In order to fulfil its responsibilities effectively the Senate appoints the Vice-Chancellor and President as its ChiefExecutive Officer and works in partnership with him to maximise the University’s capacity and performance and toensure its fiscal viability. The Senate delegates operational responsibility to the Vice-Chancellor and monitors, guidesand supports the work of the Vice-Chancellor and Executive. It has identified its key activities as the setting ofstrategic directions, the oversight, audit and review of proper governance processes, and the assessment andmonitoring of performance against established targets.In 2004, the Senate had six standing committees to advise it on its key activities: the Audit and ReviewCommittee, the Development Committee, the External Environment Committee, the Strategic ResourcesCommittee, the Chancellor’s Committee and the Chancellor’s Reference Group.The Vice-Chancellor is appointed for a period normally not exceeding seven years. Professor DeryckSchreuder, the University’s 16th Vice-Chancellor, completed his duties in December 2003 in order to return toscholarship. In February 2004 Professor Alan Robson, the University’s previous Deputy Vice-Chancellor,succeeded Professor Schreuder as the University’s 17th Vice-Chancellor.The Vice-Chancellor appoints an Executive group to assist him with his responsibilities for theacademic, financial, administrative and other business of the University. In 2004 the Executive comprised:Deputy Vice-Chancellor—Professor Margaret SearesResponsible for broad line management of the deans of faculties, Head of the School ofIndigenous Studies, and the University Librarian and for external relations and communityactivities, and deputising for the Vice-Chancellor in his absence.continued overleafpage 11