August 13, 2015

Deakin University senior staff ‘used students to target indigenous academic’

SENIOR academic staff at Deakin University are alleged to have orchestrated a campaign to remove a prominent indigenous academic that involved enlisting students, including one who was left so traumatised by the experience that she required psychiatric help.

The Australian reports that the fallout from the removal of Wendy Brabham, the head of Deakin’s Institute of Koorie Education, created an atmosphere of infighting and dysfunction, characterised in one university-commissioned report as “hostile” and “unsafe”.

Reports, obtained through Freedom of Information requests, list staff grievances about a “hostile/unsafe working environment”, “intimidatory behaviour” and “bullying” at the institute which provides community-based learning for indigenous students.

A significant portion of indigenous staff have since departed the university.

Professor Brabham had led indigenous education at Deakin since 1991. She was suspended in 2013 and later dismissed.

One student, who was also a member of IKE’s staff, alleged that a senior Deakin academic administrator offered her a “Melbourne shopping weekend” in return for signing statements that assisted the university’s case.

From: http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/news/geelong/deakin-university-senior-staff-used-students-to-target-indigenous-academic-wendy-brabham/story-fnjuhovy-1227480057399

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am very interested to read this regrettable account from Deakin as unfortunately academia in Australia has acquired a "cut throat" reputation.

I wonder have any of our readers come across Professor Paddy Nixon, a UK academic who spent a decade or so as a senior officer at the University of Tasmania, and certainly knew how to "back stab" ?

Anonymous said...

The fact is the Wendy bullied and harassed me while I was studying law at Deakin, her insidious reign of terror finally brought to and end. I was left to pick up the shattered parts of my life and left with 10,000 bucks worth of hecs debt and .15 years worth of depression and post traumatic stress, while I feel
Sure this will bring much heated debate to this subject yet again fact is that if she was in any way bullied well at least to my mind it smacks of poetic justice by virtue of life by the sword die by the sword