The state Auditor General released SA public universities 2021 financials weeks back (CMM August 5) but VC’s still got their messages out, in annual reports, just tabled in state parliaments.

Peter Høj (Uni Adelaide) was grateful, “through superb effort and agility, our staff ensured that the last two years, whilst not ideal, have not been lost years for our students,” optimistic, “the hard work of the last two years has set us up for a bright future, where we can continue to celebrate our many successes,” but not for everybody, “the overall financial result does not remove the need to address the underlying financial challenges facing the university. … this has meant a number of staff will be moving on from the university.

Colin Stirling’s (Flinders U) message was that despite the pandemic “we surge ahead in both education and research, a testament to the commitment of our staff to our student-centred ethos.”  Such a surge that he thanked them again, “for their commitment, fortitude, and hard work in staying focused on the needs of our students.”

And there is no beating David Lloyd (Uni SA) for effervescent esprit de corps. “In 2021, in the face of the world’s biggest disruption to human endeavour, UniSA made radical changes to the way it operates. That’s just us; Australia’s University of Enterprise. While the global pandemic shut doors and quieted the running of businesses the world over, we used the time to remodel our institution. Our staff rose to every challenge and were Unstoppable.”