From the Vice-Chancellor

Volume 9 Number 7 July 8 - August 11 2013

Education: the way to change the world

 

‘Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world,’ Nelson Mandela said. 

Inspired by such wisdom, the University takes delight in establishing the Melbourne School of Government, a graduate teaching and research institution to shape the next generation of democratic leaders.

Building on key support from Arts, Business and Economics and the Melbourne Law School, the Melbourne School of Government adds to an already strong public policy contribution made by the University across many disciplines, from population health, agriculture and sustainability, economics and law, to the pressing policy and regulatory issues in education, medicine and science.

Under the leadership of Professor Helen Sullivan, the Melbourne School of Government begins just ahead of the 2013 election. With the poll looming, the University will contribute to the depth and accuracy of information and analysis available to the electorate.

A new interactive site, Election Watch 2013 (Twitter - @electionwatch), hosts authoritative election commentary and analysis from academics across the University. Topics include the role of ‘spin’ and the impact of political fundraising.

Public debate will receive a further boost through the Citizens Agenda. Hosted by the Centre for Advancing Journalism, in conjunction with leadership interrogation group OurSay (http://oursay.org/), the Citizens Agenda encourages voters in ten representative electorates around Australia, including Melbourne and Corangamite in Victoria, to question their local candidates.

The University welcomes too the imminent launch of an innovative Election Fact Check service from The Conversation, at http://theconversation.com/au. The aim is a solid factual foundation for political debate. University of Melbourne academics are invited to contribute in their field of expertise.

Though an election focuses attention on public policy, the work of developing and exploring ideas continues through the year. This was recognised by the University Communications office last month, with an informal thank you for Melbourne academic staff who contribute regularly to the media. 

Media ‘hits’ by staff are measured carefully by University Communications, confirming the extraordinary range of research, teaching and professional staff who share insights from scholarship and practice through the media. It was encouraging to note that five of the ten most interviewed University of Melbourne academics are women.

Elections can be uplifting when a genuine contest of ideas, but deeply demoralizing when conflict trumps purpose. My favourite quote about the political process remains Hunter S. Thompson: ‘Most nights are slow in the politics business but once in a while you get a fast one, a blast of wild treachery and weirdness that not even the hard boys can handle. It is an evil trade, on most days, and nobody smart will defend it.’

It is not our job to defend politics, but a university has a responsibility to explain, to illuminate, and to make available expertise. Every day, colleagues at the University of Melbourne convey ideas and evidence through the media; in an election campaign, that need is never more pressing.

Glyn Davis
Vice-Chancellor