Senior Leadership Shakeup: Are Senior Staff Changes the Answer to University Woes?
Words by Ethan Manera (he/him)
The Vice Chancellor is working on a shakeup to the Senior Leadership Team, introducing three new positions and scrapping the current Pro Vice Chancellors.
Salient attended a closed-door staff forum on Thursday 4 May, where Vice Chancellor Nic Smith detailed the new plans to an enthused crowd.
Under the changes, the university will create three new roles: a Provost, Chief of Staff, and an Executive Director of Enrollments and Admissions Management. Smith said the changes would “reduce bureaucracy and increase clarity in our collective responsibilities, accountabilities, and delegated authorities.”
In addition to the now confirmed roles, the Vice Chancellor announced a two-week consultation process for an additional, newly proposed role: a Deputy Vice Chancellor for Students. The DVC Students was proposed in response to feedback from staff that students should be the centre of the university's thoughts. The proposed role will have a wide-ranging portfolio across Tītoko, experience and wellbeing, international students, scholarships, marketing, and future students.
The new Provost role would act as a “chief academic officer”, working with all the university’s deans instead of the current reporting lines between deans and the Pro Vice Chancellors.
The establishment of an Executive Director of Enrollments and Admissions Management comes after a dramatic fall in student enrollments for 2023 which has caused a $15m financial deficit for the university. This role would be “focused on the entire student journey”, the Vice Chancellor explained at the forum, in charge of student enrolment and retention.
The recruitment process for the three confirmed positions has already begun, but it is unclear when we can expect each position to be filled.
When asked by a staff member in the forum if applicants for the new positions will be required to have a good understanding of Te Ao Māori, Smith said he “won't require them to” but is instead more interested in a “willingness to engage”.
The changes will see 11 roles within the university disestablished in favour of the creation of seven new positions, including executive assistants.
A university spokesperson told Salient that the leadership portfolio realignment will “enhance our student experience” and that VUW “needs a strong leadership team with the right structure in order to ensure a financially sustainable future.”
The university refused to release the salaries for the new positions to Salient due to privacy reasons.