Murdoch U has a new student recruitment campaign, “This is free thinking”.

“We didn’t become a free-thinking university overnight. Since we were founded in 1976, we’ve been committed to providing students with the kind of education which helps them to change their worlds, think for themselves, and find new ways to push past the status quo,” is the pitch.

“Free thinkers are curious, bold and courageous They are people who challenge convention, but not for the sake of being contrary. They are not afraid to step away from the crowd and forge their own path. So, if you are a free thinker, you will be right at home here at Murdoch,” the university adds.

The campaign is on the university website while Murdoch U is being widely criticised for taking legal action against academic staffer Gerd Schroder-Turk, who went public with concerns about the English-language standards of some international students at the university. Yesterday 57 Australian Research Council Laureate Fellows wrote to Murdoch’s chancellor and VC, Gary Smith and Eeva Leinonen, warning, “it is a long-established principle of academic freedom that academics must be able to criticise university governance. This right is especially important where aspects of university governance might compromise the integrity of teaching and research.”