A new head of the University of Canberra has been appointed.
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He is professor Paddy Nixon who is currently vice-chancellor of Ulster University in Northern Ireland.
He is leaving an institution with turbulent industrial relations to join one with a similar history of difficulties between staff and management.
In June, professor Nixon apologised in Ulster University after a damning independent report criticised the way his university failed to consult the union over the redundancy of 143 staff.
The university he led was compelled to pay a total of $3 million to redundant staff after it lost a legal case brought by their union.
The university he joins has also had internal friction. Last year, staff at the University of Canberra voted to strike over pay and the pressure of work, particularly on younger academics.
According to both the BBC and The Belfast Telegraph, the new vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra sent an open letter to his staff in Ulster in June accepting responsibility for what had been "a very difficult time for the university".
"It is very clear there were fundamental flaws in the way this process was managed, particularly in the way that the university engaged with staff and union representatives," he said.
"I am deeply sorry for any stress that has been caused."
The apology from the head of the University of Ulster (now heading to the University of Canberra) came after an Industrial Tribunal (which in Britain has full legal powers as an industrial relations court) ruled that each member of staff made redundant should be compensated because of the failure to consult their union. This added up to about $3 million.
Professor Nixon then commissioned a report from a respected employment lawyer to determine what lessons should be learnt.
The lawyer's report, which The Canberra Times has seen, said the leadership of the university failed to keep the union "in the loop" as had been promised.
The report does not accuse the new head of the University of Canberra of deceiving the union during the redundancy negotiations in Ulster.
But it does say that the way letters from the union were simply forwarded to the university's Human Resources Department meant, as the lawyer's report puts it, that "the union's request for information was thus stymied".
The report also says that the union came to see the lack of a response as "rude, as a slight and a source of great frustration and stress".
In universities, the vice-chancellor is like the chief executive and the chancellor is like the chairman of the board who oversees but who doesn't have day-to-day power. Chancellors often have a more ceremonial role.
The chancellor of the University of Canberra, professor Tom Calma, said professor Nixon had been open about the controversy back in Ulster and had taken a "strong role" in sorting it out.
"We were aware that there was an issue in the HR department and we are satisfied from referees' comments that it was resolved and that he took a strong role in resolving it," the chancellor told The Canberra Times.
He also thought the Ulster "fit' with the University of Canberra was right.
Both universities have strong track records for research with practical, industrial applications. Both are "civic universities", strongly involved in local communities. On top of that, professor Nixon had previously worked at the University of Tasmania between 2010 and 2015.
Professor Nixon holds a PhD in computer engineering. He is quoted in the University of Canberra press release saying: "As a first of family to attend university I have a personal understanding of the significant impact a university education can have and, hence, I am deeply passionate about the civic role of a university and its core purpose of educational opportunity for all."