Vic Uni: The place to be...

[costargh]

http://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria-uni-loses-top-scholar-20081226-75ln.html

Victoria Uni loses top scholar

A LEADING Melbourne education expert has resigned from the governing body of the embattled Victoria University, just weeks after speaking out strongly against hundreds of job cuts and campus closures at the institution.

Professor Richard Teese, a member of the university's governing council, publicly criticised the slashing of up to 270 jobs at an open council meeting in late October.

"VU is a community of scholars, yet it is about to lose significant numbers of its academics/teachers," minutes of the meeting record Professor Teese as saying.

"Council was urged to have more involvement to mitigate the (staff) losses, so that no cuts that are made are deeper than required."

Professor Teese — one of the designers of Victoria's state-school funding system and director of Melbourne University's Centre for Postcompulsory Education and Lifelong Learning — resigned from the council in early December.

He declined to comment when contacted by The Age.

The damaging resignation rounds out a troubled year for the western suburbs-based university.

Just weeks after vice-chancellor Elizabeth Harman announced the academic and general staff job losses in mid-October, it was revealed that the university's Melton and Sunbury campuses would stop taking new students.

Victoria University has also controversially threatened to sue a senior academic, who is also a council member, for defamation after he accused the vice-chancellor of manufacturing a cash crisis to justify the job cuts.

The legal threat against economist James Doughney sparked claims from academics that the university was gagging academic freedom of speech — an accusation strongly denied by the institution.

In a further blow to the university, the head of its resource committee, George Buckland, has quit his post in opposition to the staff cuts, campus shutdowns and the financial position of the university.

Speaking at the same October council meeting as Professor Teese, Mr Buckland said the size of the redundancies had surprised his committee.

He also noted that from July it had become apparent that the university's cost-saving initiatives were not going to be met. "In this context, Mr Buckland added that he therefore found it difficult to discharge his duties as chair of the resources committee," the minutes state.

Mr Buckland did not resign from the governing council, on which he has served since 1995.

Mr Buckland and Professor Teese supported a motion put to the meeting by Dr Doughney that the university's decision to cut jobs be suspended. The motion was defeated.

University management was unavailable for comment.

Professor Harman told the council meeting the redundancies were due to an imbalance in operating spending and the university would take into account other cost-saving measures.

Several Victoria University professors have slammed the institution's decision to use the State Government's solicitor to threaten legal action against Dr Doughney, saying it undermines academic freedom.

Earlier this month, the Government solicitor sent a letter to the academic on behalf of the chancellor, Justice Frank Vincent, demanding he withdraw and apologise for "false and defamatory allegations" regarding the job cuts.

In October, The Age revealed that Dr Doughney, an elected staff representative on the council, had written to state and federal MPs accusing Professor Harman of using a "pea-and-thimble trick" to create a cash crisis to justify the job cuts.

Dr Doughney is president of the Victorian tertiary union.

Justice Vincent has defended his decision to engage the Government's solicitor, saying the legal letter was sent after advice from senior counsel.

[brendan]

meh there is no freedom of speech issue here unless the argument is that defamation laws themselves are somehow wrong.

[costargh]

Excuse me, neg karmaing because someone posts an article that has negative comments about your university is immature and is shooting the messenger.

Who     Whom     What (+/-)     For What     Where     When
Odette. (+41/-0)    costargh (+97/-7)    -    Meanie    In topic    Today at 10:43:11 AM

[methodsboy]

eeewwww VU TAFE ..........

[hard]

eeewwww VU TAFE ..........

well that is the second best tafe imo. RMIT being the best.

[beezy4eva]

Theres a petition going around melton to try and save the VU campus. Last time i checked there were like 15 signatures XD

[dusty_girl1144]

eeewwww VU TAFE ..........

well that is the second best tafe imo. RMIT being the best.

they both consist of a university too.
so naturally theyd be up the top of the list in TAFEs?

where does swinburne sit?

[methodsboy]

well that is the second best tafe imo. RMIT being the best.

VU is also the worst ranked uni IMO

[Odette.]

Excuse me, neg karmaing because someone posts an article that has negative comments about your university is immature and is shooting the messenger.

Who     Whom     What (+/-)     For What     Where     When
Odette. (+41/-0)    costargh (+97/-7)    -    Meanie    In topic    Today at 10:43:11 AM

Sorry it's just I'm kinda sick of people making negative comments about VU or posting information that does that... or something similar... most of you don't even go to the Uni, *sigh* Whatever... I'm sorry, it's just getting annoying, I know VU isn't the greatest Uni but it's still a decent Uni. >_> Don't worry I'll refrain from karmaing (is that a word?)you or others who make these sorts of posts/threads...

[hard]

well that is the second best tafe imo. RMIT being the best.

VU is also the worst ranked uni IMO

I'm not sure what your intention there is but i'm well aware VU isn't the greatest uni out there. You don't have to degrade it further but capitalizing IMO to sound like some smart ass because frankily VU DOES have a innovative and well established TAFE. If you have a problem with that then you can start a petition to close VU down for all i care.

[methodsboy]

LOL geez. I wasn't trying to offend anyone, I was just simply making a statement. As i said b4 "IMO".

[Odette.]

well that is the second best tafe imo. RMIT being the best.

VU is also the worst ranked uni IMO

Take a look... VU isn't the worst ranked Uni

[methodsboy]

sorry i was meant to say "VU is amongst the worst" - my apologies

[osmoister]

i'm well aware VU isn't the greatest uni out there.

pointing out the obvious

You don't have to degrade it further but capitalizing IMO to sound like some smart ass

how about imho, would that satisfy your judgement

frankily VU DOES have a innovative and well established TAFE.

universities running tafe courses, we have arrived to a very sad day indeed

can i just say if anybody out there is considering going to this university, youre better off repeating year 12. it is RUBBISH spelt with capslock. i can't even begin to imagine what limited employment opportunities you would have.

[osmoister]

i can't even begin to imagine what limited employment opportunities you would have.

i'm wasn't basing this on evidence. don't plan on hunting me down if i'm incorrect.