“We are committed to addressing our history, its legacies and contemporary racism, by taking action to respond to and prevent racism in all of its forms at the University of Melbourne,” 

In a statement released late yesterday the university committed to developing an anti-racism action plan through, “on-going consultation with our university community and informed by the lived experience of our students and staff.”

It is based on a four-part commitment, a university definition of racism, a statement on the historical context of racism at Uni Melbourne, defining Islamaphobia and antisemitism and its anti-racism, “vision and commitment.“ It also includes,

“curricula, broadly conceived to include what we teach, the materials we use, and our pedagogies

* “hiring practices, including how we determine and assess the capabilities we seek in leaders and colleagues, and

* “student selection procedures, including the attributes we stipulate for our students and how we assess them.

“We commit to take action to respond to and prevent racism at the University of Melbourne,” the university states.

The commitment to addressing the university context may build on last year’s announcement of a project at the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, to “examine the relationship between Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne from its foundation in 1853 until the present, (CMM August 19 2022).