UWS Regional Council

The UWS Regional Council is the principal advisory council of the University dealing with its participation in strategic social agendas of the region of Greater Western Sydney such as health, housing, educational opportunity, equity, employment, small business, women, and environmental management. As such, it has roles in:

• monitoring and evaluation of the University - in light of the needs of the region, keep under review the development of UWS and provide the Board of Trustees with regular assessment of the University's performance and its engagement with it's communities
• advocacy and development - identify and frame issues of concern for communities, initiating linkages, developmental partnerships and alliances between the University and relevant public and private sector groups and organisations
• promotion and communication - establish mechanisms for reporting relevant University decisions, strategies and outcomes to the wider regional community. It is also vital to establish processes that help maintain effective communication between the University and the communities of the region
• advice and reference - provide advice and reference on matters referred by the Board of Trustees.

After wide-ranging consultation, the Vice-Chancellor invited twenty people from Greater Western Sydney to form the membership of the inaugural council. The Vice-Chancellor chairs the council which meets several times each year.

The council will have a significant role in the Regional and Community Grants Scheme. The Vice-Chancellor has allocated $250 000 per year for the next three years to foster innovative University/community projects. This is an exciting opportunity to strengthen links between the University and its region.

UWS Regional Council Dates

Meetings will take place from 5.00 pm - 7.00 pm, in the Boardroom, Building AD, Werrington North campus on:

• Dates to be advised

Current Members of the UWS Regional Council

Mr Graham Bargwanna - Scouts Australia (NSW)
Dr Ron Beckett - The Reinvention Network
Mr Francois Brun - UWS Golden Key International Honour Society
Ms Dalmah (Dell) Cotter - Community Representative
Ms Anne Dransfield - Alumni
Mr Ross Free - Retired (Former MP for Lindsay (Penrith)
Mr Kevin Garrick - Sarah Redfern High School
Mr Kon Gouriotis OAM - Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre & Liverpool Regional Museum
Mr Abd-Elmasih Malak - Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia
Ms Lucija Medojevic - UWS Golden Key International Honour Society
Ms Judith McDonald - Leading Edge Inventions
Mr Bill Nolan - Zone Products Australia
Mr Lu Papi - Lu Papi & Associates
Senator Marise Payne - Member, Federal Government Education Science & Training Policy Committee
Sister Mary-Louise Petro - CEO of Mamre Plains Ltd
Mr Ian Stone - Advance Metal Products [Aust] P/L
Ms Maureen Walsh - Deputy Lord Mayor of Parramatta City Council
Pastor William King Williams - Community Representative

UWS members
Mr John Phillips AO - Chancellor UWS
Prof Janice Reid AM - Vice-Chancellor UWS (Chair)
Prof John Ingleson - Deputy Vice Chancellor
Dr Barbara Holland - Pro-Vice-Chancellor Engagement
Ms Jan Temple - Director Engagement UWS

For more information regarding the UWS Regional Council, please contact the Office of University Engagement.

Terms of Reference

The University of Western Sydney is committed to regional and community engagement. Engagement begins with bringing knowledge to life in the communities of Greater Western Sydney and extends to the University’s wider role and reputation in the Sydney region, as well as its activities and identity as an Australian and international University.

UWS has a strategic goal to be distinguished by the range and quality of professional activities that generate mutual benefits for, and develop productive relationships between, the University and its communities.

Two principal community engagement forums are the councils reporting to the Board of Trustees. These are the UWS Regional Council and the Indigenous Advisory Council. Each of these councils has a broad mandate to fulfil the functions of:

• monitoring and evaluation
• advocacy and development
• promotion and communication
• advice and reference.

Terms of Reference and Membership
The Regional Council will have a broad regional focus with its role being to provide advice to the Board and the University in relation to regional and community engagement matters including:

• advice on strategic social agendas of the region such as health, housing, educational opportunity, equity, employment, small business, women and environmental management  
• advice on the University’s performance and its engagement with its communities
• advice on issues of concern for communities, initiating linkages, developmental partnerships and alliances between the University and relevant public and private sector groups and organisations
• advice on establishing  mechanisms for reporting relevant University decisions, strategies and outcomes to the wider regional community and processes that help maintain effective communication between the University and the communities of the region
• advice and reference on matters referred by the Board of Trustees
• consultation and communication in particular with the communities of Greater Western Sydney.

The membership of the council comprises community, Board of Trustees, and University representatives.

The community members comprise not more than 25 external persons, nominated by the council or the Vice-Chancellor, and appointed by the Board of Trustees. Such members are to be selected on the basis of ensuring that the council maintains a balance of interests and experience reflective of the communities of Greater Western Sydney.

The Board and University members are:

• the Chancellor
• the Vice-Chancellor
• the Deputy Vice-Chancellor International and Development
• the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Engagement
• the Director, Office of University Engagement.

The council is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor.

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