AGY-3522 | Committee of Deans [University of Newcastle]

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The Committee of Deans is first mentioned in Senate resolution no. 56/75 of the 2nd April, 1975, as “the Committee of the Deputy Chairman and the Deans” to whose consideration a question of collecting statistics was to be referred (Senate Minutes, p.1134). It apparently met for the first time on 11th April, 1975, which meeting is numbered in the Committee’s Minutes as 75/1. At that meeting the Vice-Chancellor verbally defined the Committee’s role and constitution. No other instrument establishing the Committee appears to exist. At the first meeting the Vice Chancellor (in the Chair) said that he would like to see "the Deans play a greater part in deciding academic policy and he proposed that the Committee of Deans should hold formal and regular meetings to consider academic matters in a slower and more deliberate fashion than was possible at Senate. “In addition, the Committee may need to meet at short notice in order to consider ad-hoc questions outside those referred to it by Senate. “He proposed that the Vice-Principal should be Chairman of the Committee in order to give it the necessary continuity. He himself would attend as many meetings as possible.” The Committee normally met monthly, except during December. It dealt chiefly with matters of enrolment, examinations, student records, statistics and the administration of higher degrees, with some attention to staffing levels and remuneration. The meeting of 26th February 1979 was the Committee’s last. The meeting set for 26th March was cancelled by a memorandum from the University Secretary dated 19th March. As in the case of its establishment, no other instrument terminating the Committee appears to exist.