A professor who sent his PhD student a string of romantic messages and a photo of himself in his boxer shorts has won his job back after being sacked by the university.
University of Melbourne Professor of Geotechnical Engineering Stephan Matthai, now 62, was dumped by the university in December 2024.
He was sacked after it emerged he had sent a female PhD student a string of romantic messages and a suggestive photo of himself back in 2017.
Prof Matthai, who moved to Melbourne from Germany for a senior academic post, was found to have engaged in misconduct by the Fair Work Commission.
However, the tribunal ruled that his termination was unreasonable given the university had known about the inappropriate conduct for years.
Deputy President Alan Colman found the university’s decision to fire Prof Matthai seven years after the fact was excessive.
He pointed out the engineer had maintained a clean professional record ever since.
‘If he had been dismissed at the time the misconduct occurred, when he was 55, he may have had more opportunities for re-employment,’ Mr Colman said.
Professor Stephan Matthai (pictured) was fired from the University of Melbourne last year after he was found to have engaged in misconduct by the Fair Work Commission
The University of Melbourne has signalled it may appeal the decision.
The matter traces back to 2017, when an unnamed PhD student who had received a scholarship to study in Melbourne started working under Prof Matthai’s supervision.
Their exchanges began as professional, but quickly became romantic.
In a string of heartfelt messages, Matthai opened up about his recent break-up and responded to a poem from the student with one of his own.
‘We are like the dry soil soaking up the autumn rain after a long hot summer. It is very beautiful and caresses our souls, but it should not give you pain. You know that I am barely coping with the separation from [omitted],’ he wrote.
Their exchanges moved to personal email and private video chats, with Matthai deliberately avoiding university channels to dodge detection from those he described as ‘UoM internet security people’.
‘It is our very own private conversation… and yes, we have the pleasure of getting a glimpse of this together and it is really beautiful reawakening,’ he wrote.
‘We share this on a deep intuitive level.’
The University of Melbourne is considering appealing the Fair Work Tribunal’s decision
The pair messaged back-and-forth for two months, with Prof Matthai sending the student a picture of himself in his boxer shorts.
The tribunal deemed the messages to be ‘inappropriate and unprofessional’ but not grounds for dismissal.
Despite the university being informed of the messages in 2017, Matthai was allowed to continue in his role until his sudden dismissal in late 2024.
The tribunal took particular issue with the university’s delay in acting, stating that it had effectively condoned his continued employment.
No further concerns arose during the following years.
Matthai’s legal win means he will be reinstated to his $226,000 position, but with the university now reviewing its next steps, his future remains uncertain.
