ANU scandals during Julie Bishop’s tenure caused $100m in reputational damage, university estimates

A series of high profile scandals and governance failures has cost the Australian National University $100m in reputational damage, the interim vice-chancellor, Rebekah Brown, has told a parliamentary committee. Fronting senate estimates on Friday – a day after a scathing audit report found the ANU approved a controversial $250m cost-cutting program without clear evidence – Brown acknowledged it had been a challenging time for the university. Brown said the financial loss was primarily due to the reputational effect on the ANU’s donor pipeline and the recruitment of international students. “It is very significant, and we are still modelling the impact, the impact is still live,” Brown told the hearing. “Our modelling from the end of last year … it’s in the order of $100m.” Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email The university has been plagued by scandals in recent years into the university’s culture, poor financial management, as well as accusations of bullying against former chancellor Julie Bishop made at a senate inquiry. Bishop has previously said she rejected “each and every allegation” against her. The cost-cutting program, dubbed Renew ANU, led to the resignation of former vice-chancellor, Genevieve Bell in September . In the 12 months prior to September, Renew had resulted in at least 399 redundancies. Bishop, who became chancellor in 2020, resigned in May, ahead of her term as chancellor expiring at the end of the year. …