The Charles Sturt University Board of Governors was first convened on the 14th November 1990, when it succeeded the Interim Board of Governors as the governing body and policy making authority of Charles Sturt University (CSU) (1). The 1991 CSU Annual Report described the responsibilities of the Board of Governors as “…overseeing the university’s resources and the development of broad policies for academic planning and administrative and teaching facilities.” (2)

The membership of the Board, which had been appointed in October 1990, had the following membership, as stipulated by the Charles Sturt University Act 1989:

• two Parliamentary members (one member of the Legislative Council elected by that Council, and one member of the Legislative Assembly elected by that Assembly);
• the Official members consisting of the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, each of the Chief Executive Officers of the network members (that is, the Principals of each of the campuses
• Mitchell, Riverina and Murray) and the deputy presiding member of the Academic Senate; eight appointed members (four persons appointed by the Minister, being persons who have, in the opinion of the Minister, an association with western and south-western New South Wales, and four persons appointed by the Minister, being persons nominated by the Council of the University of New South Wales); and
• four elected members (two members of the academic staff of the University, one member of the non-academic staff of the University, and one person who is a student of the University). (3)

The University By-Laws provided that ordinary meetings of the Board of Governors be held no fewer than five times each calendar year, and that these meetings should be open to members of the University, however where a confidential matter arose, the Board could go into “camera” at any time (4).

The Charles Sturt University Act 1989, detailed the following attributes as functions of the Board of Governors as the governing authority of the University:

• responsibility for the coordination of the University’s resources;
• the distribution of the income of the University amongst the network members;
• the development of broad policies with respect to academic planning, the nature and standards of academic awards, and defining the educational profile of the University;
• the definition of areas and responsibilities for the network members in respect to teaching, research and consultancy;
• the development of administrative and teaching facilities for the University;
• liaison with the government in relation to the overall resource needs of the University;
• and representation of the University as required (5).

The powers of the Board of Governors as stipulated by the Act included:

• to provide courses, and confer degrees, awards, diplomas and certificates as it sees fit;
• appointing and terminating the appointments of academic and other staff of the University;
• to control and manage the affairs and concerns of the University in its best interests;
• to invest and borrow money or funds on the University’s behalf;
• to engage in the commercial development of any interests of the University;
• to establish and maintain branches and colleges of the University within the University itself and elsewhere;
• to make loans and grants to students, and also to impose fees, charges and fines where applicable (6).

As the Interim Board of Governors had not established any Committees of the Board, one of the first initiatives the Board of Governors was required to implement were it’s committees. Thus, by the end of 1990, the Board had established the following committees:

• the Academic Senate (the principal academic body of the University which advised the Board of Governors on all matters relating to teaching, scholarship and research);
• the Standing Committee (an executive body of the Board of Governors which acted on behalf of the latter in those matters requiring immediate action);
• the Finance Committee (to advise the Board of Governors on all matters of a financial nature);
• the Personnel Committee (to make recommendations to the Board of Governors concerning policies in relation to personnel); and
• the Honorary Awards Committee (to consider all nominations for proposed honorary awards). (7)
  In addition to these committees, the Audit Committee (responsible for reviewing both the internal and external auditors) was established in 1994. (8)

The last meeting of the Board of Governors was convened on 11 June 1999, after which it was disbanded and replaced by the Charles Sturt University Council which was established on 1 July 1999. This change in governance was precipitated by Charles Sturt University Amendment Act of 1998. (9)

End Notes:
(1) Inaugural Meeting of the Board of Governors, 14 November 1990, Agenda p.1.
(2) Charles Sturt University Annual Report, 1991, p.5.
(3) Charles Sturt University Act, 1989, p.10.
(4) Inaugural Meeting of the Board of Governors, 14 November 1990, Agenda attachment.
(5) Charles Sturt University Act, 1989, p.13-14.
(6) Ibid., p. 14-15.
(7) Meeting of the Board of Governors (2/90), 19 December 1990, Agenda attachment.
(8) Charles Sturt University Annual Report, 1994, p.7.
(9) Charles Sturt University Annual Report, 1999, p.39.

Agency History compiled by Wayne Doubleday (2004).

The first meeting of the Interim Board of Governors was held on 19 July 1989, the same day that the Charles Sturt University Act, 1989 (Act No.76, 1989) was proclaimed. (1) The Interim Board of Governors was the governing body of the newly established Charles Sturt University, and as such, controlled the initial development and direction of the University.

The Charles Sturt University Interim Board of Governors was charged with the responsibility of establishing all necessary by-laws and taking all steps to ensure that the Board of Governors proper could be constituted within twelve months. (2) Other priority tasks included the appointment of a Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor (the latter of which was appointed in May 1990), the difficult decision of where to set up the Chancellery, the establishment of an Academic Senate and other committees including an overall academic structure, the establishment of conditions of employment, procurement of a University seal, the creation of a corporate image for the University, and the delegation of functions to members of the Board, to committees and officers of the University. (3)

In June 1989, the Minister for Education and Youth Affairs, Dr Terry Metherell, appointed the initial fifteen members to the Interim Board of Governors. This number was then supplemented by the three Chief Executive Officers of the three campuses of the University - Mitchell (Bathurst), Riverina (Wagga Wagga) and Murray (Albury-Wodonga). (4)

The substantive Board of Governors was appointed in October 1990, at which time the Interim Board of Governors was disbanded, its last meeting being convened on 15 August 1990. (5)

Endnotes

1. Charles Sturt University Act 1989 (Act No.76, 1989), Schedule 4 cl. 25, commencement proclamation NSW Government Gazette No.83, 14 July 1989, p.4202; Inaugural Meeting of the Interim Board of Governors, 19 July 1989, Agenda p.1.
2. Order of Proceedings for Ceremony to mark the Inaugural Meeting of the Interim Board of Governors, 19 July 1989.
3. Inaugural Meeting of the Interim Board of Governors, 19 July 1989, Agenda pp.81-82.
4. CSU Annual Report 1990, p.8.
5. Ibid., p.8.

Agency History compiled by Wayne Doubleday (2004).

The Higher Education Act, 1969 (Act No 29, 1969) provided for the establishment of the New South Wales Advanced Education Board, New South Wales Universities Board, New South Wales Higher Education Board and for Colleges of Advanced Education. An Interim College Council was formed in Wagga Wagga for the purpose of establishing a Riverina College of Advanced Education. (1)
The Riverina College of Advanced Education was established on 1 January 1972 when it was declared to be a College of Advanced Education within the Department of Technical Education under section 17(1) of the Higher Education Act 1969. (2) It became an autonomous body from 1 October 1972 under Section 16(1) of the Higher Education Act 1969. (3)
Wagga Wagga Teachers College was the first to amalgamate in 1972 as the School of Teacher Education. The two other foundation schools were the Schools of Applied Science and Business and Liberal Studies. Study Centres were also opened at Griffith and Albury-Wodonga in 1972. (4)
From the beginnings of the Riverina College of Advanced Education it was proposed that there would be an integration with the Wagga Agricultural College. Although initially the Department of Agriculture resisted amalgamation. (5) It was not until 1976 that the amalgamation of the Wagga Agricultural College and the Riverina College of Advanced Education took place, and the Wagga Agricultural College became the School of Agriculture within the Riverina College of Advanced Education. (6)
In 1984 the Goulburn College of Advanced Education was disbanded, and the students and staff were divided between the Wagga and Albury Campuses of the Riverina College of Advanced Education (7) In 1984 the name was changed to Riverina-Murray Institute of Education to recognise the many geographical areas the college covered. (8)
In 1989 the Charles Sturt University Act brought together the Riverina-Murray Institute of Higher Education and the Mitchell College of Advanced Education to form Charles Sturt University. (9)

Endnotes

1. June Sutherland, From farm boys to Ph D's: Agricultural Education at Wagga Wagga, 1896-1996, Charles Sturt University, 1996, p.121.
2. NSW Government Gazette No.129, 5 November 1971, p.4278.
3. Department of Technical Education, Report of the Minister for Education for the year ended 31st December 1972, pp.14-15 in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1973 Vol.2, pp.892-893
4. Charles Sturt University - Mitchell, p.9.
5. Sutherland, op. cit., p.122.
6. Charles Sturt University - Mitchell p.9.
7. Sutherland, op. cit., p.122.
8. ibid.
   9.Charles Sturt University Handbook 2000, p.13.