Long-standing University of Newcastle archivist Gionni DiGravio has been stood down pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
Mr DiGravio, who has worked at the university for 30 years, was summoned to a HR meeting on Monday morning after returning from long-service leave.
He was placed on administrative leave and told to go home until further notice.
"All this is very distressing and personally humiliating, but HR have assured me that I have done 'nothing wrong'," he wrote in the university's collaborative email system on Wednesday.
He apologised to staff and students who had scheduled appointments to discuss research matters.
Mr DiGravio, who is also chair of Hunter Living Histories, has been an internal critic of the university's management in recent times.
He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to the university and preservation of the region's history in 2023.
In 2017, Mr DiGravio was part of a team that founded the GLAMx Living Histories Digitisation Lab, providing students with hands-on experience digitising local archives, film content and historical artifacts.
The university's chief people and culture officer Martin Sainsbury said the university would not comment on confidential employee matters.
"As with any workplace, concerns relating to employee matters arise from time to time," he said.
"The university has established processes to respond to such matters in a way that is fair, confidential, and consistent with workplace obligations.
"Where appropriate, interim arrangements may be implemented while these matters are being assessed, to support the wellbeing of all those involved. It would be inappropriate to comment further while any such processes are underway."
The university was recently ranked one of the worst Australian universities for psychological health and safety risk to staff. The university said the timing of the census, in October, coincided with a particularly challenging time of change for staff and the university.
