Linda Connor and Nick Riemer. Sydney Morning Herald, September 29 2016. Read the original here. Sydney University's choice to award an honorary doctorate to John Howard is a decision to celebrate racism, bigotry and militarism. The award is unjustifiable in an institution claiming to serve the public good that says it is committed to rigorous… Continue reading Why ‘racist’ John Howard doesn’t deserve an honorary doctorate
Tag: University of Sydney
Disruptive or productive? Two sides of the protest coin
The Australian, April 22, 2015 Last week, the University of Sydney announced formal misconduct allegations against academic Jake Lynch and five students after a campus protest in March interrupted an advocate for the Israel Defence Forces. Let’s leave aside the particulars of the allegations, the case is important because it raises vexed questions about universities’… Continue reading Disruptive or productive? Two sides of the protest coin
Australia dropped in the Times Higher Education rankings. So what?
The Guardian, Friday October 4 2013. Read the original here. There are many reasons for serious concern about the future of Australian universities. But the collective drop of local institutions in the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings this week certainly isn't one of them. Ranking tables are a major instrument of the marketised, university-as-business ideology… Continue reading Australia dropped in the Times Higher Education rankings. So what?
Why is Sydney University on strike? Because students are not our ‘clients’
The Guardian, Friday August 30 2013. Read the original here. On Saturday, thousands of Year 12 students and their parents will visit Sydney University for Open Day, one of the many such exercises around the country. A full brace of marketing techniques will be deployed to convince would-be “clients” to choose Sydney’s “brand” over those… Continue reading Why is Sydney University on strike? Because students are not our ‘clients’
Intellectual freedom under threat at Sydney
New Matilda, April 18 2013. Read the original here. The University of Sydney’s cancelation of a June talk by the Dalai Lama, revealed last night by the ABC, is the latest in a series of failures of Sydney’s management to uphold the university’s elementary intellectual and social responsibilities. China forms a key international student market… Continue reading Intellectual freedom under threat at Sydney
Sandstone academics up against the wall
New Matilda, February 4, 2013. Read the original here. Of all the arenas prey to neoliberal reforms, few have witnessed such extensive transformation in recent decades as universities. Withdrawal of government funding; cuts to courses, most recently at La Trobe and Monash; swollen tutorials; less face-to-face teaching; the embrace of competition as the governing principle… Continue reading Sandstone academics up against the wall
Should unproductive academics be made redundant?
Sydney Morning Herald, April 14, 2012. Read the original here. How to assess academic productivity? At Sydney University, the question couldn't be more relevant: in November, management announced that it had made a serious budgetary mistake and would slash underperforming staff in order to pursue IT and building improvements. Although officially, research is only 40… Continue reading Should unproductive academics be made redundant?
Management should pay for their mistakes
The Australian, February 29, 2012. Read the original here. A COUPLE of weeks ago, the University of Sydney asked 100 of my colleagues - the equivalent of three large departments - to show cause why they should not be sacked. Sydney's vice-chancellor, Michael Spence, said the savings would be spent on essential maintenance work and… Continue reading Management should pay for their mistakes
Actual Tasks 