Fox replaces Williams as UNE's Deputy Chancellor

I hadn't caught up on the fact that Scott Williams had stood down as Deputy Chancellor at UNE. Just to embarrass him a little, this is a photo of a much younger Scott at the Aymever Christmas party. Aymever was our collective attempt to establish an Armidale based national/international consulting, training and information services business specialising in the electronics, aerospace and information industries. On the right of the photo are Phillip and Susan Mendes. Philip was our commercial and intellectual property lawyer. Further comments follow the photo.

I thought that Scott made a pretty good fist of his role as UNE's Deputy Chancellor, often in very difficult circumstances. UNE really has suffered more than its fair share of turmoil in recent years.

The University has announced the election of Dr Geoff Fox as its new Deputy Chancellor.

In the announcement, UNE Chancellor Richard Torbay said that Dr Fox brought a wealth of experience to the role, including a distinguished 27-year career with the World Bank, six years as Principal Adviser in Agriculture at AusAID, and positions as Adjunct Professor of Rural Science at UNE and Chair of the UNE Foundation.

He has a long association with UNE, having begun his tertiary education at the University in the 1960s.

“Dr Fox is a passionate advocate for education and the New England region, and his leadership on the UNE Council since his appointment in 2010 has been recognised with this appointment,” Mr Torbay said. “I think Dr Fox will make an excellent Deputy Chancellor, and I congratulate him on his appointment.”

In announcing the appointment, Richard once again thanked Scott for his work.

In another announcement on the same day, the University claimed now to be one of the fastest growing universities in Australia, with student numbers up more than 20 per cent over the last two years. That's good to hear. A post back in August on my personal blog ( Saturday Morning Musings - UNE alumni dinner) provides an insight into the frustrations that some of the alumni have felt about UNE's overall approach in recent years. May be things are improving!