Union urges Adelaide University to recover payment made to Peter Rathjen, as it considers erasing name from certificates
The University of Adelaide is being urged to recover the payment it made to disgraced former vice-chancellor Peter Rathjen on his early departure, as it also considers taking his name off certificates.
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Adelaide University has a “moral” duty to reclaim any payout made to disgraced former vice-chancellor Peter Rathjen, staff at the institution say.
The university is a considering erasing the name of Prof Rathjen from graduation parchments as it seeks to put a dark chapter behind it.
“If any moneys were paid, or benefits provided, to the former vice-chancellor to entice his ‘quiet’ departure, the university now has a moral obligation to recover them,” National Tertiary Education Union branch president Nick Warner said.
Prof Rathjen was found by Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Bruce Lander to have committed “serious misconduct” by groping two female staff.
Prof Rathjen lied to Mr Lander and to then-chancellor Kevin Scarce, the Commissioner said.
The NTEU said it “condemns and deplores” Prof Rathjen’s behaviour and commended the courage of the two women who reported him.
Prof Rathjen resigned from the university the day after he gave evidence to the ICAC inquiry.
He cited ill health for his departure.
“He received payment for a significantly reduced period in lieu of notice,” Chancellor Catherine Branson said.
It is understood Prof Rathjen was paid more than $1m a year. He was appointed in January 2018.
Student Representative Council president Oscar Ong said: “We are advocating for all the testaments which were signed by Peter Rathjen to be reissued by the university with a new signature.”
A university spokesman said the administration would assess whether to eliminate the Rathjen name from graduation parchments after a request in light of the request.
The SRC also wanted the university to commit to more measures to eliminate sexual harassment than what was recommended by Mr Lander.
“We want a commitment to a timeline so that if anyone comes forward they will be assured their complaint will be resolved within a certain time frame,” Mr Ong said.
“The public perception is that this took nearly 1½ years to be exposed.
“We want students to feel comfortable that they wouldn’t have to go through such a long process.”
Before being appointed to Adelaide’s top job, Prof Rathjen was vice-chancellor of the University of Tasmania.
UTAS vice-chancellor Rufus Black said it had conducted its own investigation but found “no known evidence” of sexual harassment by Prof Rathjen during his tenure.
Mr Lander revealed there had been an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment or abuse by Prof Rathjen against a postgraduate female student at Melbourne University when he was an academic there.
Prof Rathjen lied about that investigation, Mr Lander found.
Melbourne University has not commented publicly on its investigation.
Mr Lander made eight recommendations about how the university could improve its policies and procedures for preventing sexual misconduct and dealing with complaints.
Ms Branson said the university would appoint an external consultant to audit and advise on what improvements could be made.
“The university council will do everything in its power to make sure that our campuses are safe for staff and students,” she said.
“We are deeply committed to achieving this outcome.
“We must have a safe environment where everyone is treated with respect and all of them are free from bullying or harassment of any kind.”