Verity Firth appointed UTS Pro Vice-Chancellor

UTS Executive Director Social Justice Verity Firth has accepted an invitation to take up the newly-created role of Pro Vice-Chancellor (Social Justice and Inclusion), leading social impact and engagement at UTS.

Recognising her long career and contribution across the highest levels of government, including as NSW Minister for Education, and in the university and not-for-profit sectors, she will hold the title Industry Professor.

UTS Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Parfitt congratulated Verity on her appointment, and said the new role will ensure integration of social justice and inclusion outcomes across all UTS operational and strategic priorities.

“Verity has been an instrumental part of the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion (CSJI) since her commencement as Executive Director, Social Justice in 2016. The Centre has thrived under her leadership, with the development of the UTS Social Impact Framework being just one of the many outstanding achievements. 

“Through the CSJI and her external work with the Australian Human Rights Commission and the James Martin Public Policy Institute, Verity has brought a strong voice for social justice to the UTS community, particularly around addressing educational disadvantage.

“The new PVC (Social Justice and Inclusion) will expand on these responsibilities, and work with the university leadership team and other senior UTS leaders to shape community engagement and develop valuable partnerships and initiatives that address public and social good.”

“I look forward to working closely with Verity in this role and know she will bring her dedication, energy and professionalism to the next stage of our social justice agenda.”

In her former role as Executive Director Social Justice, Verity led the development of the university’s Social Impact Framework, which sets the university’s overarching social justice objectives and tracks its performance against these objectives.

Social justice initiatives are embedded throughout the UTS 2027 strategy, allowing UTS to apply a social justice lens to all areas of teaching, learning and research, and the PVC (Social Justice and Inclusion) will assist in maximising UTS’s capacity to deliver social change. 

Verity will play a significant role in the shaping UTS precinct community engagement, developing partnerships and initiatives around the responsible leadership of technology, and working with schools and TAFE to support equity and access at every stage of learning.

This includes improving pathways to university for non-school leavers, particularly from Indigenous and low SES backgrounds, and ensuring all UTS students have the agency to enact personal and social responsibility, with both curricular and extracurricular programs to embed these attributes.