University of Sydney chancellor David Thodey refuses to back vice-chancellor Mark Scott

David Thodey has refused to back his embattled vice-chancellor Mark Scott, who has resisted calls to resign following his admission that he had ‘failed’ Jewish students and staff.

University of Sydney vice-chancellor Mark Scott, left, and new chancellor David Thodey.

University of Sydney chancellor David Thodey has refused to back his embattled vice-chancellor Mark Scott, who has resisted calls to resign following his admission that he had “failed” Jewish students and staff who felt unsafe on campus.

Mr Thodey, who began his term as chancellor of Australia’s oldest university in July this year, would not address questions put to him on Tuesday on whether Professor Scott had his “continued support” in the role.

“The Senate is actively working with the vice-chancellor to make sure that the University of Sydney is a safe place for all our staff and students – and has the best governance possible,” he said.

Mr Thodey’s comments follow calls from former and current University of Sydney staff and the Zionist Federation of Australia for Professor Scott to resign.

Professor Scott last Friday told a Senate committee that testimonials by Jewish staff were “heartbreaking and unacceptable, and for that I am sorry”.

When pressed by opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson and senator Paul Scarr on whether this amounted to a failure of leadership, Professor Scott said: “Yes, I have failed them and the university has ­failed them.”

The Senate committee also heard from the Australasian Union of Jewish Students that the University of Sydney was “probably one of the worst places to be a Jewish student right now”.

Separately, the nation’s peak Jewish community organisation has accused the university of inaction on a number of fronts, including tackling “deep animus against Israel that is embedded among some of the academic staff” and allowing a “permissive environment for anti-Semitic expressions” on campus.

In a submission to the university-commissioned external review conducted by barrister Bruce Hodgkinson, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry alleged the University of Sydney was “unparalleled compared to any other campus in the country” in terms of anti-Semitism.

ECAJ also alleged that the University of Sydney had received a warning from NSW emergency services weeks before university management forced protesters to leave due to those safety concerns.

“The university received an email from Fire and Rescue NSW on 24 May 2024 warning that the protesters were blocking fire exits in breach of regulations,” the submission read.

“The mail was addressed to the vice-chancellor, among others.

“An email to the vice-chancellor on the same date from the (university) protective services man­ager noted: ‘this has been raised with the encampment several times and they continually refuse to follow direction’.”

The Australian has sighted internal documents that corroborate this claim.

It was only in mid-June, weeks after that email from emergency services, that university security removed tents from the lawns. At the time, a university spokeswoman said the university had “previously informed (protesters) we needed to clear the clock tower area following compliance concerns from fire and ­rescue”.

Submissions for the Hodgkinson review closed at the end of last week. The University of Sydney announced the review in July this year to “ensure that its processes and policies are appropriate and accord with applicable standards”.

A University of Sydney spokeswoman echoed Mr Thodey’s comments that the Senate was “actively working with the vice-chancellor” to ensure the campus was a safe place for all students.

“We appreciate the time and consideration that our students, staff and broader community have taken to share their experiences and feedback with us and will consider this submission alongside the others we’ve received,” she said.