Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1998 14:31:45 +1000 From: Paul.James@arts.monash.edu.au Subject: Re: Bust of Sir John Monash leaves Monash University in disgust To: John Monash Dear Sir John, You may have been an ornery old sod in your life-time, but this time it seems that you have done the honourable thing. Congratulations!!!! It was a beautiful press release. You must have good speech writers. Best wishes, Paul P.S. I will spread your letter far and wide. paul.james@arts.monash.edu.au Department of Politics Monash University Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia -------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1998 10:19:56 +1000 From: Professor Marian Quartly Subject: your message To: sirjohnmonash@hotmail.com Dear Sir John Are you travelling in company with a number of garden gnomes? Marian Quartly ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1998 13:56:24 -0700 From: Shane Elson Reply-To: sgels1@student.monash.edu.au To: sirjohnmonash@hotmail.com Subject: email Dear Sir John, I would like to remain in contact with someone whose ideals reflect the community need. However, those for whose departures you so eagerly desire have removed my email access, my printerand my courses. I fear I shall not be able to raise a clarion to my fellow students and rally them to rail against these changes. The Stundent Union at Gippsland is moribund, the staff despondent. What do we do? Shane -- Shane Elson PO Box 780 Morwell, Vic, Aust, 3840 Ph 61 3 5134 8556 ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 16:46:28 +1000 From: Mari Eleanor Subject: Re: Bust of Sir John Monash leaves Monash University in disgust To: John Monash Reply-to: mari.eleanor@arts.monash.edu.au Hi Sir John, Glad to hear that you've taken a stand!!! Can I suggest that you perhaps replace yourself with the following a new stuatue of those three terrible signs outside the admin building: 1 re the security camera 2 re moving tent city one Perhaps they can be creativly mounted in a block of concrete and left on your old stand!! All the best, Mari Eleanor Honours student, Department of Music Administrator, Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 21:35:07 +0000 From: Stephen.Carpenter@arts.monash.edu.au Subject: Re: Bust of Sir John Monash leaves Monash University in disgust To: John Monash Dear Sir John, I must say that actions like your recent departure from Clayton are certainly reminiscent of the actions of University life of the sixties. I did not think that this sort of militantism was extant in the psyche of the university student of the 90s. Perhaps you were not merely sitting there mute and watching without learning from the actions of 60s. Your recent departure is perhaps not the wisest thing you have ever considered but may at this point be understandable. Lets hope that you do not remain irretrievably lost in the wilds of the land outside Clayton. All Good Things, Stephen Carpenter: Musical Director, Monash Wind Symphony. "Reading is the Gateway to Education" stephen.carpenter@arts.monash.edu.au 19 Goodwin St., Blackburn. Victoria. Australia. + 613 9878 3532 (home phone) + 613 9490 3532 (work phone) + 613 9497 4060 (work fax) sgcar@igs.vic.edu.au (work e-mail) ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 15:37:51 +1000 From: Michael.Stevenson@arts.monash.edu.au Subject: Re: Bust of Sir John Monash leaves Monash University in disgust To: John Monash im sad to hear you have departed our fair shores i hope you will be able to return one day michael ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 14:33:13 +1000 To: sirjohnmonash@hotmail.com From: Suzanne Christie Subject: Good luck! Good luck on your travels Sir John. I wish you well. Suzanne ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 11:47:53 +1000 To: sirjohnmonash@hotmail.com From: Michael Johnston Subject: Your departure from (ex) Monash University Dear John, I must congratulate and commend you on your wise and couragous resignation as the mascot of what used to be one of the best universities in Australia. Like you, I have been saddened and outraged by the appalling treatment that successive governments have dealt to our university system. I am afraid that Australia has not become the nation you might have hoped that it would. In the Australia of today, learning is not held in high esteem, except in as much as it may lead to increased ability to make money. I see around me a culture deeply committed to a philosophy of ignorance and stupidity, in which the only thing that counts is the ability to manipulate an inflated bladder. Like you, I may soon have to leave these shores, as it is becoming increasingly clear to me that my natural abilities of creativity and critical thinking are not appreciated here. All the best, (Dr) Michael Johnston ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 16 Sep 1998 13:50:37 -0700 To: sirjohnmonash@hotmail.com From: Nicole Dawson Subject: bravo I don't know who you are, but... Hear, hear! I just received a copy of your media release concerning the departure of Sir John from the hallowed halls of Monash Admin. The management direction Sir John is righly protesting against is certainly not unique to Monash, but as an alumni of that institution I am particularly saddened to see how far things have gone. You expressed the problem beautifully - the loss of "learning for its own sake and as a means of enriching the community, of knowledge of the world around us beyond a narrow vocationalism....higher education is seen as solely an individual benefit delivering better job prospects..." etc. When I started at Monash in 1988, the writing was on the wall but there were vestiges of sanity remaining. One of the reasons I chose Monash was that it still seemed to represent the values I cherished. It had not yet become just another factory for churning out the (hopefully) employable as quickly and cheaply as possible. Having moved interstate, I have not kept track of developments but it appears that VC Mal's legacy continues. I'm now working at a small regional university in NSW and I see way too much evidence of the same approach. Surely it's possible for universities to stand up to the political funding steamroller? Just wanted to say good on you for kicking up a stink about it! ------------------ Nicole Dawson Net'sUP Project Team (Network Services Upgrade Project) Information Services Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, LISMORE NSW 2480 PH: +61 2 6620 3751 FAX: +61 2 6620 3033 **Have your say! Go to: http://clyde.scu.edu.au/network ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Monash gone missing?? Date: Wed, 16 Sep 98 14:46:06 +1100 From: Karey Patterson To: Sir John, you are once again demonstrating your fiercely independent nature in the face of bureaucratic mediocrity. Your annoyance is most understandable. The institution that bears your name DOES seem to reflect very little of what you represent. May you maintain the courage to remain hidden until such time as the winter of current policy lifts. -- Karey Patterson, Technical Officer - Graduate College of Management and Associate Lecturer, School of Commerce and Management. Southern Cross University, PO Box 1183, Lismore, NSW 2480 Australia Web: http://www.scu.edu.au/ Email: kpatters@scu.edu.au ph (w): (02) 66 203 196 ph (h): (02) 66 223 886 Cell: 0414 641 184 ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1998 20:51:46 +1000 To: sirjohnmonash@hotmail.com From: Adrian Ryan Subject: Congratulations Sir John, congratulations on your stand against the Barbarians who administer your university. I can only hope that you will be as successful in this fight as you have been in many others. Adrian Ryan Dr Adrian Ryan Secretary NTEU (NSW Division) adrianr@ozemail.com.au (Home) adrian.ryan@nsw.nteu.org.au (NTEU (NSW DIV)) 02 9212 5433 (NTEU (NSW DIV)) Fax 02 9212 4090 (NTEU (NSW DIV)) ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1998 22:38:59 +1000 From: Alan Davies To: sirjohnmonash@hotmail.com Subject: Congratulations! Dear Sir John, Well done on your escape from the corporate prison. I suggest you draw up a list of demands before you return, including: An end to racism against people from ethnic backgrounds such as your own; The re-instatement of a decent publicly owned electricity generation and distribution system such as the SEC which you once headed; A properly funded, independent tertiary education system open to and affordable by everyone. Otherwise, take them to court and tell them, STOP USING MY NAME! (Perhaps you could encourage Monash Primary School in the ACT to sue them for copyright infringement....) Well done for showing that whilst you have no more facial expression than John Howard, and a heart made of much the same substance, you are a man of far greater principle. Alan Davies ---------------------------------------------------------- From: "Gian Bhogal" To: sirjohnmonash@hotmail.com Subject: More Money for Nursing Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1998 04:42:13 PDT Dear John, I think that you have made the right move. I will also be leaving soon too. I am supposed to be learning how to become a Psychiatric Nurse through your fine University but my Educators are so over worked and under resourced that the situation has become very difficult. Unfortunately people with mental illness are not worth much in this Corporate State so they don't attract much attention and/ or funding. Perhaps you could refuse to come back until the University increases funding to Nursing. The people that cut back on public education should be made to spend time in public psychiatric care so that they can get a better understanding of what it is like to be on the receiving end of their policies. Gian Bhogal Postgraduate Nursing Student PS. I don't agree with theft (NB. Even though the rich do it.) so I am hoping that after the protest is over you will return the Bust. Gian ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 10:55:14 +1000 From: Marian Quartly Subject: links to your homepage To: sirjohnmonash@hotmail.com Dear Sir John Your home page is a thing of truth and beauty (if a bit dark on my screen!) My congratulations on your rapidly achieved IT capacities; you are an example to all of us rapidly aging academics; retraining is possible to meet the challenges of the new age. I would be grateful if you would consider including on your homepage links to the Monash Arts homepage, where the Age articles on corporatisation by myself and Paul James are to be found under Dean of Arts: The Debate About the Future of the Australian Universities. Our Occasional Publications, also listed there, contain more interesting material on this subject. The universities are crucial to the future of Australia, and debate about their current situation needs to be promoted by every possible means. Again, my congratulations upon your contribution. Marian Quartly ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 09:42:29 +1000 From: Gary Peters Subject: Re: Sir John Monash Website To: John Monash Reply-to: Gary.Peters@arts.monash.edu.au I'm very impressed that an old codger like yourself has been able to enter the cyberspace age. I just thought I should let you know though, that the colour scheme you chose for your web page was very hard to read on my browser - the white on black wasn't too bad, but the coloured fonts (will they become links?) were illegible. Don't fall into the same trap as those who now govern your university, and become dazzled by technology - simple colour schemes work better on web pages! Keep up the good work, Sir John! Gary _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ Gary Peters Department of Japanese Studies Monash University, Clayton, 3161, Australia Phone (03) 9905-2270 Fax (03) 9905-5437 http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/japanese/ /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 14:37:30 +0000 From: Damien.Kingsbury@arts.monash.edu.au Subject: Re: Sir John Monash Website To: John Monash Dea John, Your sight takes far too long to download. Having said that, I'm pleased that you've managed to free yourself from the intellectually stultifying confines of the campus. Run wild! Run free! Best regards, you mate, Damien ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 17:26:22 +1000 From: karap1@student.monash.edu.au Subject: Bravo To: sirjohnmonash@hotmail.com Dear Sir John, Bravo bravo bravo bravo bravo l tip my hat to you Yours in Solidarity, Karl Rapp ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 07:27:09 -0500 From: ksewell@dordt.edu (Keith Sewell) To: sirjohnmonash@hotmail.com Subject: Note There is a piece by one Geoffrey Maslen in THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION for July 31, 1998, p. A36 headlined 'Academic Warns Americans Against Taking Positions at Australian Universities'. It discusses the experiences of a Ms. Esau in the Faculty of Arts, Australian National University. It is by Geoffrey Maslen. She thought she has a tenure-track position, etc. Tenure does not mean in Oz what it means in the US, etc. Yet, I seem to recall, that this is the same Geoffrey Maslen who has in times past had his knife into non state controlled education, e.g. Presbyterian Ladies College. When will Australians learn that they have to get the state out of education and higher education? The concept of the Free University merits the most careful consideration. From one who one would have liked to teach at Monash, but not now. -- Keith Sewell (ksewell@dordt.edu) ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 11:19:58 +1000 (EST) From: Madeleine Mary Fogarty Subject: be headed in the right direction To: sirjohnmonash@hotmail.com Dear campaigners, Touche - a brilliant piece of political action. At the moment I am flat out writing and working but I think that something can be written about this act that will stir up the pot even further. Keep me in touch. and keep up the agitation. Madeleine Fogarty ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 14:16:49 +1000 From: Paul.James@arts.monash.edu.au Subject: Council Meeting ruled by Seven Suited Executives Dear colleagues, Professor Clive Probyn, Dr Andy Butfoy and I attended the University Council meeting last night (21 September). There are a number of illuminating issues to take you through, all which added up to the meeting being an easy points victory to the Vice Chancellor. He was in his element, supported by a compliant Chancellor and a set of regulations which allowed the substantial muting of the opposition. We were effectively silenced except for one set-piece by Professor Probyn, and no tabling of documents was allowed. We left the meeting after two hours feeling dispirited and appalled at the way in which the Council is fast-becoming a compliant forum for David Robinson to exert his new status as self-proclaimed Chief Executive Officer. The difference between this Council and the usual corporate board meeting is that here the adminstrators feel no pressure to directly answer any question posed to them. In response to explicit questions for information, instead of offering to collate meaningful figures and get back to the enquirers, Council administrators constantly pointed members to documents tabled throughout previous meetings suggesting that they could work it out for themselves. 1. SPEAKING RIGHTS CURTAILED Over the previous few days we had been negotiating through the Council secretary for speaking rights as well as observer status. At the same time, to cover ourselves, we had asked Prof. Terry Threadgold to organize speaking rights. Because the Chancellor was away we were unable to confirm those rights before attending the meeting. Terry did not get back to us about what she had arranged. Upon entering the meeting we were presented with the fait accompli that only Professor Probyn would be granted speaking rights. The impression was given by the Chancellor as chair of the meeting that he was simply following procedures - he had no choice - and we were given no opportunity to point out that the Council's own regulations allow for a delegation of three persons to speak to a particular agenda item. The Chancellor ran the meeting with bland and tired civility turning possible debate into a chance for the seven suited executives on one side of the table to intimidate the rest of council with self-serving evasion of the most of the critical questions being asked. Two women stood out as asking very pointed questions which went largely unanswered. The most passionate, Ms Sally McManamny, was treated with easy condescension (we learnt later that neither woman is likely to be renewed for a further term on Council. The Council now largely decides on its own constituency through a membership subcommittee). 2. tabling of documents ruled out of order. In setting the Council minutes the VC had played a deft and devious hand. Instead of putting into the minutes the draft Blueprint that had been "acknowledged" by the Arts Faculty Board (a document that explicitly questioned his management of the budget of the University), he instead used the previous draft that the Faculty had refused to endorse, with an additional appendix at the back of the minutes noting the series of motions passed by Faculty Board in arriving at the latest version of the Blueprint. This had the effect of taking any rhetorical force out of the changes to the Blueprint. As one administrator comfortably said, he thought the motions were a mixture of 'motherhood statements and factual inaccuracies'. Because further tabling of material was ruled out of order, the Council was left to note a document that had not been voted on by the Arts Faculty Board. 3. THE DEBATE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF ARTS Despite all of this, largely thanks to Council member Ms McManamny, and one statement by Professor Probyn, the debate about the future of the Arts Faculty went on for over an hour. The Dean, Marian Quartly attempted to speak positively about how Council might contribute to helping the Faculty get back on its feet, but this was easily countered by the seven suited executives, in particular Mr Wade. He pointed out that the 6.1 million dollars on possible loan to the Arts Faculty to facilitate getting rid of staff on a voluntary basis was to be interest-free, and therefore was an effective subsidy to the Faculty. At about this point, OUR OWN Professor Terry Threadgold said that in her opinion the loss of 55 staff was not only necessary given the budget constraints but would contribute to strengthening the Faculty. Given that the petition from over 150 staff members which argued the opposite could not be tabled, the Council was left with two alternative views on the matter. Not surprisingly, most of the Council members chose to accept the view of Professor Threadgold. 4. OTHER MATTERS We learned that Council voted, without much discussion, on matters as seemingly significant as purchasing $1 million or so of shares in a single company. We learned that the Chancellor enjoyed his conference of university leaders in Canada, except for the fact that an inordinate number of Indian gentlemen from the subcontinent insisted on speaking in non sequiturs for at least half an hour each, presumably, he said, to get their airfares paid. We learned that the Council was now facing a series of extraordinarily 'tricky' problems in relation to Sunway, the Malaysian campus of Monash, problems that they had only just found out about. The problems included a government requirement to register that had not yet been met, which means that they were operating as a technically illegal operation; a government requirement to teach three compulsory subjects including Islam which means, if followed to the letter, courses such as engineering were made unviable; a government requirement to have teaching permits as well as work permits for transitory staff which means that the easy movement of Monash staff from Australia to Malaysia was blocked; a government edict that Israeli nationals could not enter Malaysia which means that a university bearing the name of a person with his toes in the Jewish faith was unlikely to have any Jews allowed to enter its hallowed halls. All of these issues were passed over with jocular light-heartedness. All in all it was a depressing but illuminating meeting. It became clear that active staff representation on Council is now absolutely essential. Yours, Paul James paul.james@arts.monash.edu.au Department of Politics Monash University Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia