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Drumming up business
Bond U promotes enrolments with a clip of women drummers in a marching band followed by a woman going the full Meg White (via Facebook). “In a world of standards be a standout,” is the copy-line. Curiously, Bond U does not appear to teach percussion.
There’s more in the Mail
In Features, Gary Velan and Patsie Polly (UNSW) on how to measure teaching-excellence measures.
And tomorrow Gretchen Dobson and Dirk Mulder on repeat business from international alumni.
Griffith U invites staff to speak-up on free speech
VC Carolyn Evans has sent staff a brief on implementing Robert French’s proposed university free speech code
The draft includes an adapted version of Mr French’s proposals for Griffith U and more generally, Queensland circumstances. The differences include;
* a new free-speech policy will not take precedence over other policies. “In Queensland, universities do not have power to make delegated legislation which would take precedence over policy,” she writes
* staff may be asked not to associate themselves with Griffith U, if speaking up outside their expertise
* free speech can be limited by confidentiality clauses or contracts with third parties
She also makes the point that there are already “a number of ways,” academic freedom and freedom of speech are best protected, “the Enterprise Agreement being the most notable.”
Clause 47 of the academic agreement guarantees the right to “participate in public debates and express opinions about issues and ideas related to their academic and professional areas, about higher education issues as they affect their institution and about higher education issues more generally,” to, “participate in professional and representative bodies without fear of harassment or intimidation,” and “engage in community service without fear of harassment, intimidation or unfair treatment.”
Professor Evans has appointed emeritus professor Lesley Chenoweth to facilitate discussions of the proposal, as an independent party familiar with Griffith U’s culture. Workshops will, allow staff to raise questions, concerns or recommendations about the proposed new code.
The Griffith draft will be closely considered – this is a debate Professor Evans knows about, writing on the intersection of human rights legislation and religious belief, (CMM June 25) was widely noted.
ANU to teach cybersecurity to governments
CMM’s reporting with a straight face correspondent files news that ANU will run a bootcamp, to “help better equip practitioners at the frontline of the region’s cybersecurity challenges.”
DFAT is funding the university to run the courses for three times per annum for four years, for officials from ASEAN and Pacific nations.
The courses will include “exercise scenarios,” – ANU can teach from experience.
Restructures roll on at Uni Newcastle
Now its IT and the business school
Back in 2016 the university called in the consultants to review administration (CMM November 21). Then there was a marketing comms review (CMM July 20 2017) and a redesign of undergraduate humanities (September 11 2017).
The focus last year appears to have been on enterprise negotiations but the pace of change has picked up.
In August, a comprehensive restructure of academic admin was announced (CMM August 26). Changes involving job cuts are now being considered in the university’s business school, with a comprehensive restructure of IT services. This is said to involve no reduction in net head count but there could be a “spill and fill” of dozens of existing roles
Irritation replaces anticipation at Uni Canberra
The Uni Canberra community is still waiting for the long-awaited review of the assistant professor scheme and the local union has had enough
The programme, designed to increase research output, was sent to review early this year, with a report delivered to management in October. But the hoped for imminent release did not occur, with the university convening a focus-group to work on a response (CMM November 1).
Irritation has now replaced anticipation, with the campus branch of the National Tertiary Education Union demanding report release, lest an announcement be delayed and disappear into summer. Vice Chancellor Deep Saini, who championed the assistant profs scheme also leaves next month, for a new job in Canada (May 20).
Existing assistant profs who find the research output required for tenure a strain have until January 3 to opt out of the scheme, which might be a mistake if it continues with less onerous outcomes required.
The NTEU is calling on the university to release the report, saying, this was a management commitment in enterprise bargaining.
New social science fellows lead appointments, achievements
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia announces its 2019 fellows
* Peter Clarkson (Uni Queensland). * John Cordery (Curtin U). * Robert Costanza (ANU).
* Rosalind Dixon (UNSW). * Sara Dolnicar, (Uni Queensland). * Carolyn Evans (Griffith U). * Andrew Fitzmaurice (Uni Sydney). * Christopher Gregory (ANU). * Mark Griffin (Curtin U). * Peter Gronn (Monash U).
* Ghassan Hage (Uni Melbourne). * Baogang He (Deakin U). * Julie Henry (Uni Queensland). * Katie Holmes (La Trobe U). * Renée Jeffery (Griffith U). * Justin Kenardy, (Uni Queensland). * Emma Kowal (Deakin University).
* Gary Magee (Monash U). * Desmond Manderson (ANU). * Mark McLelland (Uni Wollongong). * Gavan McNally (UNSW). * Sarah Medland (QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.
* Sundhya Pahuja (Uni Melbourne). * Jacqueline Peel (Uni Melbourne). Sarah Pink (Monash U). * Ian Ramsay (Uni Melbourne). * Iain Ross (Fair Work Commission). * David Schlosberg (Uni Sydney). * Julie Stubbs (UNSW).
* David Treagust (Curtin U). * Carla Treloar (UNSW). * Rodney Tyers (UWA). * Gordon Waitt (Uni Wollongong). * Terry Walter (Uni Wollongong). * Claire Williams (Flinders U). * Jenny Williams (Uni Melbourne). * Yves Zenou (Monash U).
The Academy also announces its 2019 early career researchers;
* Elise Klein (Uni Melbourne). * David Frazier (Monash U). Rebecca Ananian-Welsh Uni Queensland. Melissa Day (Uni Queensland)
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Curtin U announces learning and teaching awards;
Curtin U Academy Fellows: Janie Brown (nursing education) Beena Giridharn, (Deputy PVC Curtin Malaysia)
Citations for student learning: Sukanta Roy, (Engineering and Science, Curtin Malaysia). Kate Duncanson (Health Sciences).
Awards for teaching: Billy Sung (Business and Law), Joel Howell and Magdy Elnashar (Health Sciences)
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Rhys Pirie (Uni Queensland PhD student) wins the Young Innovator of the Year award at the Falling Walls innovation conference in Berlin. He proposed a process to turn waste glass into sodium-silicate based products.
Blue sky mining
“Australia could be a global leader in off-earth mining,” UNSW promotes a conference yesterday. Just not everywhere – on May 2 a UNSW oped warned, “asteroid mining will happen, but Australia will miss the boom.”