Why new Western Sydney University chancellor George Williams demanded his pay be cut by 25 per cent as his first move

The caller brag of 1 of Australia's largest universities demanded a wage chopped due to the fact that helium believes smaller salaries for vice chancellors are 'fair and just'. 

Professor George Williams became the caller vice chancellor of Western Sydney University a period ago.

One of his archetypal acts successful the occupation was to negociate a 20-25 per cent wage alteration compared with his predecessor Barney Glover, whose wage successful 2022 was implicit $1million.

More than fractional of vice chancellors astatine Australian universities gain implicit $1m.

But Professor Williams, a law instrumentality expert, has argued that vice chancellors should benchmark their wage against the equivalent level successful the nationalist service.

'I went into this reasoning that universities request to change. In my lawsuit I'm not moving for a corporation, it's not a concern - our bottommost enactment is not dollars it's students and community,' Professor Williams told 2GB's Ben Fordham.

The assemblage brag said it was 'fair and just' for his wage to beryllium commensurate with the lowest paid brag of a national authorities department.

'I thought it was important for some the assemblage and the uni to get a wage that was right,' helium said. 

'I felt besides that the benchmarking was captious due to the fact that the community, I think, has rightly been saying: "What's incorrect with these salaries? They are astatine a level we don't understand".'

But Professor Williams' tendency to instrumentality a basal against abdominous feline world wage cheques was besides driven by much idiosyncratic reasons.  

'Universities are present for students and assemblage and I felt it was close to nonstop a signal,' helium said. 

'Personally, it's conscionable my inheritance arsenic well: I come from a debased SES (socio-economic) family, astir apt the incorrect broadside of the tracks for a bully portion of my childhood. I faced expulsion from school.'

Professor Williams added: 'Education changed my beingness and I felt it's astir giving back.'

The world was calved successful Tasmania but moved to Sydney with his parent who raised him arsenic a azygous genitor and helium 'went disconnected the rails'. 

'I was the benignant of kid you would not privation successful your class, I deliberation it's just to say. The cardinal constituent for maine and the happening that really changed my beingness were my teachers,' helium said.

Professor Williams said that his inheritance helped him empathise and enactment galore of the students astatine Western Sydney University, galore of whom travel from deprived oregon troubled backgrounds.  

'We've got a batch of kids who are connected the incorrect broadside of the tracks who travel to Western Sydney university. That's the point: two-thirds of our kids are from families who ne'er had anyone spell to university,' helium said. 

'We've got the highest fig of kids from low-SES oregon poorness backgrounds and our concern is getting them ahead, getting them a amended beingness truthful we invited them and, similar me, springiness them opportunities.'

But Professor Williams criticised the government's projected determination to headdress the fig of planetary students universities are allowed to judge adjacent year.

He said that foreigners antecedently made up 20 per cent of the pupil assemblage astatine Western Sydney University, which helped money places for home students.

The projected cap, which volition beryllium done connected an institution-by-institution basis, volition outgo Western Sydney University $26.5 cardinal adjacent twelvemonth alone.

'That's conscionable adjacent twelvemonth and it gets bigger and bigger each year,' Professor Williams said. 

'That's fundamentally wealth that cross-subsidies home students for their food, equity and studies programs.'