Maureen Gallagher

@maureenogallagher

Academic. Immigrant. Feminist Killjoy. Cat Fancier. Lecturer in German Studies at Australian National University. Not in Kansas anymore.

260 Siguiendo392 Seguidores111 Publicaciones

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Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Jun 4

The Auditor General’s office has released a damning report about ANU finances. There was no financial rationale for the scope and scale of the proposed cuts and Council did not adequately understand the underlying financials or explore alternatives. So they put all of us through hell for no reason.

Auditor-General Report No.36 2025–26
Australian National University Financial Management
 Under the Higher Education Standards
Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021,
Australian universities are required to be
financially sustainable.
 Sustainable financial management allows
universities to support quality teaching and
research.
 In October 2024, the Australian National
University (ANU) commenced implementation of Renew ANU, to restructure the university
and reduce ANU’s annual operating budget
by $250 million (16.5 per cent of total 2024
expenditure) by January 2026.
The Renew ANU savings target was approved by ANU Council in August 2024 without
sufficient understanding of the problem, the
options available, or implementation risks.
 ANU Council approved the $250 million
savings target without clear evidence it was
needed, achievable, urgently required, or
likely to have the intended impact.
 Council’s decision-making should have
considered additional information, options,
and perspectives.
 The ANU’s Accountable Authority under the
Public Governance, Performance and
Accountability Act 2013 is the ANU Council.
 The ANU Council is made up of the
Chancellor (Chair), Vice-Chancellor,
seven members appointed by the Education
Minister, and six members representative of
staff and students.
 The ANU Council is responsible for
promoting the university’s purposes,
 Where an Accountable Authority is a
collective decision-making body, operating
protocols should ensure major change plans
are subject to appropriate scrutiny before
approval, including the evidence base,
alternative options, feedback from meaningful
consultation with those directly affected, and
risks.
 The preparation of non-audited financial
information should be based on an approved
methodology and oversight.
 Council members should seek further
information or assurance from management
where targets are not met.
financial sustainability, and proper use and
management of public resources.

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Mar 30

Be sure to stay for the slimy consultant (whose firm collects data from universities, sells it back to them and then gets lucrative contracts from said unis to improve their performance 🤦‍♀️). Apparently the going rate to tank staff morale and trash a university's reputation is only $2 million (AUD).

A man in a bland gray suit with wavy silver hair and a cheshire cat grin testifies in front of the NSW state parliamentary inquiry into university governance. He is Tim Orton, CEO of the Nous Group (which is not pronounced like the French word); if he has his way, he will soon be coming to a university near you to sow misery, chaos, restructuring and redundancies in the name of "efficiency."

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Nov 12

One hour on campus and I spotted my first roadrunner! Welcome to New Mexico!

A mid-sized tan and brown bird with a long tail, a roadrunner, on the windowsill of an adobe building.

A mid-sized tan and brown bird with a long tail, a roadrunner, on a flagstone pavement.

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Sep 12

This is the slide that stood out to me. The # of faculty is stable, with a shift to more continuing and fewer fixed term, which is good! The big growth is in professional staff (most in central divisions, not Colleges), but it's two Colleges, faculty and academic support staff shouldering the cuts.

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Aug 3

Anne Enright on Australian birds, aka, why fifty percent of my social media posts are bird photos.

Photo of a page of a book that reads “There was no shortage of action in the Botanical Gardens that afternoon. The noisy miner, fussed and aggressive, the white ibises with their curving black commas for beaks. I thought I spotted the galah cockatoo, pink against a pinkish eucalyptus, and then decided I had not. A group of small, long-tailed birds was streaked across by the blue of the breeding male and my heart fluttered (yes) at the sight of its tiny magnificence.
This was a Superb fairywren. The birds in Australia are just ridiculous. The fairywrens are so beautiful their beauty is included in their English names: there is the Superb with his sky-blue cap, the Splendid fairywren of electric blue, the Lovely fairywren with chestnut wings, various other show-boats, intensely hued. There is no real fairy content in the fairywren, whose name was made up a couple of hundred years ago. Its older, local name is muruduwin.” The line “the birds in Australia are just ridiculous” has been highlighted.

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Jun 26

Watching a robot paint lines on the cricket pitch while wondering just which 10% of the CASS faculty are getting laid off in the coming weeks. Glad to see ANU has its financial priorities in order, at least.

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Jun 16

Today in "millennials texting their parents to figure out if they are fully vaccinated against measles." Thanks, mom and dad!

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Jun 5

Subtle, CASS Staff mailing list. Very subtle...

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Apr 7

#LifeinAustralia questions this morning: do I have to report venomous spiders as a WHS hazard? What about if they're already dead?

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Apr 2

I'll be giving a keynote speech at the 3rd Annual International Gender-Inclusive Language Instruction Conference on Friday, April 4 at 2:30 p.m. Pacific. Here's a preview of my slides to whet your appetite. Register at the link: dornsife.usc.edu/center-for-l... #academicsky

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Apr 1

Coping with job stress and dissatisfaction with terrible university leadership by making memes. What other outlets do we have?

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Mar 31

You know things are going just great at your university when they start sending the vaguely threatening emails warning you not to speak to reporters!

Screeshot of an email reading "Dear colleagues,

Firstly, thank you for being circumspect with the media to date. I know there is a diversity of views about the University’s current situation, and thank you for keeping the current students’ experience, and the reputation of the University more generally, top of mind.

Please see the message below from the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the University outlining the steps to follow if you are approached by a journalist about the University’s current situation.

Best wishes,
Kate.

Professor Kate Mitchell (Literary Studies)
Director, Research School of Humanities and the Arts"

From: Chief Marketing and Communications Officer <cmco@anu.edu.au>
Date: Friday, 28 March 2025 at 2:41 pm
To:
Subject: Media protocol

Hi ULG members

I hope this message finds you well.

As you will be aware, the Australian Financial Review has engaged in a sustained campaign of hostile reporting on ANU, with 28 negative articles dating back to December 2024.

Recently, an AFR journalist has been reaching out to individual staff members within our organisation for comments and information, and in some instances with demands for staff to justify their qualifications and expertise. This approach is causing distress and anxiety for our staff. We have formally complained to the journalist, requested that names of non-executive staff not be published in reporting, and reiterated that requests for comment are best directed to our Media team that exists to facilitate media engagement across ANU.

While we value transparency and open communication, and the right for academic staff to freely discuss topics within their realm of expertise, it is crucial that we manage our interactions with the media in a coordinated and professional manner.

To ensure the University’s messaging remains consistent and accurate, we kindly request that all media and journalist inquiries about matters of university administration be directed to our Media team within the ANU Marketing & Communications division (AMC). This team is equipped to handle media requests and will ensure that our responses align with our organisational policies and strategic objectives.

To be clear, this does NOT apply to academic staff discussing the results of their research or topics related to their areas of expertise – ANU encourages this and protects the rights of academic staff to do so under our Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech Policy.

A coordinated approach will ensure our responses are well-informed, contextually appropriate and reflect the University’s values and objectives.

I would appreciate it if you would communicate this protocol to your teams and ensure that everyone is aware of the proper procedure for handling media inquiries. If you have any questions or need further clarification, do not hesitate to reach out to the Head of Public Affairs, Amy Capuano (copied), or the Media team using the details above.

Thank you for your cooperation and support.

Steven Fanner
Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Dec 10

I'm very thrilled to have been awarded the CASS Education Award for Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA)! cass.anu.edu.au/news/2024-ca...

Screenshot of a Twitter/X post from ANU SLLL (School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics reading "Dr Maureen Gallagher, Lecturer in German Studies, has been awarded for "Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA)" at the 2024 CASS Staff Awards! ✨ The awards celebrate excellence across the college. Congratulations! See more👇https://quicklink.anu.edu.au/26pu"

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Jan 23

Me trying to follow the grocery store’s banana buying guide.

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Dec 31

Just under the wire in 2023: this new publication on teaching grammar in the German classroom beyond the gender binary, with my wonderful Grenzenlos Deutsch collaborators. www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/...

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Dec 15

I got a new hat and think I have finally perfected the “please don’t talk to me on public transit” look.

White woman with light brown hair sits on a bus in Sydney, Australia. She is wearing a blue t-shirt, white KN95 mask, sunglasses, and a straw hat with a large brim.

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Nov 7

A British tragedy in one photo: a sausage roll minus one bite on the ground outside Greggs.

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Oct 24

Submission cupcake and coffee to celebrate hitting “send” on these article proofs. Feels especially good since this article was first submitted last year right after a serious health crisis and several weeks of sick leave.

Coffee in a disposable to go cup next to an Oreo cupcake on a paper plate, sitting in the sun.

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Oct 7

At the GSA, on sabbatical, drinking a cocktail called “the sabbatical.”

Maureen Gallagher@maureenogallagher· Oct 5

Nom nom. Kicking off GSA 2023 in the best way possible.