A classic case of nepotism in action. It kills merit and destroys faith in recruiters and the recruitment process.
Former University of Wollongong governance officer Alyssa White is accused of manipulating recruitment processes to stack the department with “close friends and former associates”.
The ICAC inquiry also heard concerns about Ms White’s role in the creation of a new $400,000-a-year executive position that she herself expected to fill.
ICAC was told some received “preferential assistance” including help with position descriptions, resumes, cover letters and interview preparation.
Ms White today told the inquiry UOW had given her a commerce degree, a management cadetship and a start to her career.
“The University of Wollongong is my alma mater … I felt that they had asked for help,” she said.
Four days after signing her contract, Ms White sent then-deputy-vice-chancellor Sean Brawley a proposed staffing structure showing how she believed vacant and soon-to-be-vacant positions should be reorganised.
“He’d said to me, ‘if you had that much money, how would you spend it?'” she said.
Ms White said it “wasn’t a secret” she told colleagues when leaving Sydney, if they wanted to work with her at Wollongong they should “get in contact”.
“I’d said, somewhat in jest, somewhat not in jest … if anyone wants a job working in the governance division of the University of Wollongong, you know where I’ll be,” she said.
She later accepted she had actively sought to bring her former colleagues Lucinda Wright, Brendan Hook and Stacey Oon to Wollongong, while rejecting suggestions she had done the same with Joanne Chen.
Counsel assisting, Emma Bathurst, questioned the witness about her relationship with Lucinda Wright, who later secured a role at UOW.
Ms White described the relationship as “more of a mentor-mentee capacity” and agreed Ms Wright had reported directly to her.
“Of course, I was her boss,” she said.
She said the pair socialised outside work, visited each other’s homes, discussed personal matters and she attended Ms Wright’s engagement party and wedding.
Ms White agreed a friendship had developed.
Ms White said she reviewed Ms Wright’s CV and cover letter, provided feedback on her application and gave her an interview question before she applied for a deputy university secretary position.
“You wanted to give Ms Wright confidence in the interview process, correct?” Ms Bathurst asked.
“Yes,” Ms White replied.
“Because you wanted her to get the job,” Ms Bathurst said.
“Yes,” Ms White replied.
Ms White agreed she did not provide the question to other candidates, which created an advantage for Ms Wright.
The former governance chief also accepted she should have provided more detail when declaring her relationship with Ms Wright during the recruitment process.
When asked whether failing to do so was a poor choice, White replied: “Yes, it was.”