Title : Why the ANU walked away from the Ramsay Centre deal
link : Why the ANU walked away from the Ramsay Centre deal
Why the ANU walked away from the Ramsay Centre deal
The Australian National University (ANU) has ended its silence on why it walked away from a deal with the Ramsay Centre to fund a Western civilisation degree.
For nearly a month now, the Australian National University and Ramsay Centre have been involved in a very public spat over the breakdown of talks on establishing the degree course.
The centre was offering a philanthropic donation to run the course but, after six months of talks, the ANU walked away.
Lessons about truth in the modern era
"It is amazing how by saying and misstating something — for example that ANU is not supportive of Western civilisation studies, again and again and again — that you can actually transform the narrative into something that's not true," the ANU's vice chancellor, Brian Schmidt told AM.
The ANU says the Ramsay Centre wanted the words "academic freedom" removed from a list of shared values in the agreement between the two bodies.
"It's one thing to say that you believe in academic autonomy, but then the rubber hits the road in how it's manifested in the memorandum of understanding" Mr Schmidt told AM.
Former prime minister John Howard, who is on the board of the Ramsay Centre, wrote a letter saying the Ramsay Centre "fully endorsed the principles of academic autonomy".
But Mr Schmidt said the request to remove those words was "inexplicable" to him, though it was not in itself a "deal breaker".
"It was the sum of everything coming together; but it is an exemplar of the types of things we were dealing with," he said.
The fact that it is 'for' the cultural inheritance of countries such as ours, rather than just interested in it, makes it distinctive.
The fact that respect for our heritage has largely been absent for at least a generation in our premier teaching and academic institutions makes the Ramsay Centre not just timely but necessary."
— excerpt from Tony Abbott's Quadrant article, April 2018
Former prime minister Tony Abbott wrote in Quadrant magazine that the proposed partnership was not just about teaching Western civilisation; it was "for" Western civilisation.
ANU's vice chancellor told AM that after the paper's online publication in April, the university had asked for a public clarification from the Ramsay Centre board, declaring the university's autonomy.
"And they said 'Oh, yes, yes,' but it never actually happened and still has not happened to this day," Mr Schmidt said.
The Ramsay Centre chief executive, Simon Haines, has said in recent days the article was "unfortunate", and Mr Abbott was "mistaken" when he said the Ramsay Centre would make decisions about staff and curriculum.
"That was the first inkling that we have, you know, and that comes six weeks after we've decided we weren't going to negotiate any further," Mr Schmidt said.
"If the board would have come out and provided public assurance that that was not their view, and they would have created a memorandum of understanding that did not support that view, then we would have been happy to work with them."
'We do not hold grudges'
Mr Schmidt said if the Ramsay Centre was to propose funding an academic to pursue its work, the university would take the money.
"And that would create a great deal of controversy in our campus and that's fine," he said.
"I don't mind controversy. Universities are open to ideas. That is our whole point."
Mr Schmidt explained that the distinction between that scenario and the one they walked away from is one of autonomy.
"If the Ramsay Centre wants to say you will teach a class or a degree in this way, then that is a breach of academic autonomy," he said.
He said the university was happy to work with "almost anyone" if they respected the university's autonomy, including the Ramsay Centre.
"We do not hold grudges … if the Ramsay Centre is prepared to completely rethink how they approach this, absolutely," he told AM
Thus Article Why the ANU walked away from the Ramsay Centre deal
You are now reading the article Why the ANU walked away from the Ramsay Centre deal with the link address https://coneknews.blogspot.com/2018/06/why-anu-walked-away-from-ramsay-centre.html
0 Response to "Why the ANU walked away from the Ramsay Centre deal"
Post a Comment