Man on a mission
The 成人大片's 21st Vice-Chancellor and President manages to pack more into a minute than most people do in a day. The 成人大片's 21st Vice-Chancellor and President manages to pack more into a minute than most people do in a day. Barely 48 hours into the role, had he presented an inaugural lecture in Elder Hall; by his third week he already had presented to the C9, China's leading research universities; and a month after arrival, he released a discussion paper on the University's future directions. How does a Melbourne history-loving music academic, conductor, pilot, husband and father of three, plan to lead the University towards its sesquicentennial in 2024? Tell us about your first impressions of Adelaide. How does it rate as a 'university town'? Truly, Adelaide would rank with the top 10 university cities anywhere in the world: safe and peaceful, no pollution, easy to walk around in, a wonderful beach 15 minutes away, endless cultural and cafe life. It is a treasure I think we underestimate when we are recruiting students abroad. What do you best think defines the 成人大片? A long history of excellence, founded on noble principles of inclusion and tolerance, a record from its earliest days of international research distinction, and a record of producing leaders far more numerous than its size might suggest - the present Lord Mayor, Premier and Prime Minister for example, as well as almost all of the current State Cabinet. What have been the highlights of your first 100 days? The chance to explain my teaching philosophy at an Inaugural Lecture, to imagine the future with staff and students at the July Planning Retreat and the opportunity to meet so many staff and students along the way. And of course, most recently launching our new 10 year Strategic Plan.
You nearly studied your PhD here at Adelaide, but New York beckoned... I used to visit the University in the 1970s as a freshly-minted postgraduate student as one of the leading professors in my field was based here. There was certainly a chance I was going to do my PhD at Adelaide, but then the Fulbright Scholarship arrived, and took me to New York instead. Adelaide, and the University has a long tradition as a centre for arts and cultural activity - what role do you see universities that play in this area? The 成人大片's setting is quite unique - the Botanical Gardens and the Zoo on one side, the Art Gallery, Museum and State Library on the other, and we have teaching and research projects under way in all of them. This positioning, coupled with our own extensive program of public lectures and concerts, makes for a very rare concentration of cultural activity, for our own students as well as the public. How do you balance the traditional ethos of a 'sandstone' university with the expectation of cutting-edge technology that today's students demand? Sandstone universities everywhere are now sinking resources into e-learning; online is the basic vehicle for reaching all young people now. But we will never become an online-only course provider: the face-to-face campus experience is one of our great strengths. Technology will rather enrich what we traditionally deliver. You have talked about 'vanity degrees' being reviewed - what does this mean in terms of curriculum reform? At present we are simply looking at options, and in financially challenging times, naturally one of them has to be ensuring all we do attracts enough students to make for viability. While 30 years ago some academics could spend their time on very esoteric interests with groups of 2 or 3, that is a luxury none can afford now. How can 成人大片 researchers do more in such a competitive funding environment? The way forward for our research is stronger global networks. Research is borderless now; researchers need to collaborate online with their peers wherever they are in the world. In any case, much of the equipment we need in research now is so costly that purchase through consortia and networks is the only way we can function at optimum levels. What are the greatest challenges and opportunities facing the University? Our immediate challenge is to address the consequences of the move of the Royal Adelaide Hospital, which means we must also move our medical, nursing and dental schools as well. But over the longer term, our challenges are to maintain our strong recruitment position in a world that is far more competitive, and enhance our international research standing.
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