Last November Christmas Mark Gabbott resigned as the University of Adelaide dean of business, and left days later. Faculty of Professions head Christopher Findlay  “thanked Mark for his important contribution” and “on behalf of the faculty wish him all the best for his future,” but nothing further was said (CMM November 30).

However, the campus branch of the National Tertiary Education Union now tells members that Professor Gabbott departed “just days” after it wrote to Professor Findlay. The union wanted Gabbott’s proposed workload model cancelled, claiming it breached Enterprise Agreement consultation requirements.

But there was also a bunch of other things the NTEU did not like, including structural and personnel changes and what it says was Professor Gabbott’s commercial focus. “The changes were only tacitly endorsed by staff who failed to embrace the rationale behind them which was largely speculative and commercially driven.”

The union adds; “managers who fail to listen and respond to staff will never be successful and NTEU members who stick together and act collectively can and do solve problems.” University management had no comment on the union statement.