Shock, awe as rock star Adelaide Uni VC Peter Rathjen in ICAC probe
Peter Rathjen came to the helm at Adelaide University with a strong reputation. But the stunning events of this week have left the university and higher education sector reeling.
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In higher education circles, Peter Rathjen is the closest thing you will find to a rock star.
Which makes the explosive announcements this week all the more remarkable and the long-term damage difficult to quantify.
At the very least, it casts significant doubt on the future of the career of one of the state’s loudest and most transformative voices, but also the direction of the university he was charged to lead.
Prof Rathjen returned to his hometown of Adelaide in 2018 with massive wraps.
It was an appointment which sent shockwaves through the tight-knit Tasmanian community, where he had been a force of nature as chief of the state’s sole university, UTAS, for five years.
Tasmania is often viewed as a tourism oasis; a beautiful island of picturesque mountains, world class bush walks, a cutting edge arts and culture scene, and some of the best home grown produce in the country. And it is.
But beneath the surface lies an ongoing education crisis. Literacy levels are among the worst in the country. ABS statistics estimate about half of the population aged 15 to 74 do not have adequate reading or writing skills.
Education outcomes are dwarfed by other states. Transition levels to Year 12 alone, let alone university, are lower than their mainland counterparts. And the state has long held annual graduation ceremonies for Year 10 students.
Many schools don’t go to Year 12, with clusters of community colleges filling the void. These issues were the most deeply felt in the state’s north and northwest, where the greatest barrier was the dearth of a culture for educational attainment, in areas which had long survived on forestry and mining – before the forestry industry all but collapsed.
Prof Rathjen, in conjunction with a newly elected Liberal State Government under arguably the state’s best premier of the past 30 years, Will Hodgman, and a progressive education minister in Jeremy Rockliffe, had a meeting of minds in and around 2014 and resolved to tackle this issue head on.
It took a little while for the two groups to get on to the same page. Prof Rathjen, a Rhodes Scholar, has a powerful intellect but can also be blunt. He attracts advocates and critics in equal measure. He likes to hold court at lunches and dinner. He can engage or alienate. The Government initially viewed him as an important, but difficult, stakeholder. But over time the relationship relaxed and strengthened.
From this the progress was nothing short of remarkable.
Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of university campuses were approved for the state’s most disadvantaged regions; a centre to improve the state’s literacy, named after the late governor Peter Underwood, was set up in Hobart; more schools took on Year 12; the numbers slowly improved; controversial new associate degrees were introduced to give people quick pathways into areas such as aquaculture and horticulture, and; new student accommodation buildings were established in Hobart, transforming the city centre, and attracting more international students to the island.
Perhaps most significantly, for the first time the word “education” was the most talked about subject in Tasmania.
When it was announced Prof Rathjen was returning to Adelaide in 2018, UTAS was in the process of working on a master plan to shift its Sandy Bay campus to the city centre, with the aim of making Hobart a bona-fide university town. A plan for a STEM centre, which had been backed by Infrastructure Australia, was being worked on for Hobart.
He was given an elaborate, ceremonial farewell attended by a veritable who’s who in Tasmania.
So it is no understatement to say that Adelaide University had high hopes for Prof Rathjen’s return.
It didn’t take him long to make his presence felt.
He put a few noses out of joint in senior political circles with talk of a City Deal, similar to what he had worked on in Tasmania, to bring private, public and university projects together under one banner.
“Who does this bloke think he is,” one told The Advertiser, repeatedly.
He talked openly about improving education outcomes and increasing numbers of international students.
He advocated for shorter, sharper degrees, which were more industry focused and would provide more direct pathways into areas such as defence, manufacturing and space.
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He held regular round table catch-ups with the city’s thought leaders at his eastern suburbs home.
And he confronted what many had thought impossible, a potential merger with UniSA. He wanted an SA university which was not only regarded as among the best in Australia, but the world.
Talks were well advanced and appeared to be on the right track when the project suddenly collapsed.
Prof Rathjen was shocked and devastated.
In recent times, he had spoken about the university weathering the COVID-19 storm, despite the obvious diabolic impact on the sector which is now our biggest export market, and reports began circulating that international students may be allowed back in under 14 days quarantine. If nothing else, there was hope.
But that came crashing down this week.
First it was announced by the university that Prof Rathjen was taking indefinite leave. The rumour mill swung into overdrive. Senior politicians and silks were none the wiser. The university was quick to point out it had nothing to do with the institution’s financial situation, which merely added to the mystery.
The bombshell hit on Thursday when Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Bruce Lander announced he was investigating Prof Rathjen for “allegations of improper conduct by the Vice-Chancellor of The University of Adelaide”.
“I am also investigating the manner in which the university dealt with those allegations,” Mr Lander said.
The announcement also followed Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce immediately resigning as Chancellor earlier in the week.
“Ordinarily I would not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation because the legislation under which I operate is predicated upon investigations being conducted in private,” Mr Lander said.
“ ... However, in light of the intense speculation regarding the University of Adelaide, and the likelihood that that speculation will continue and potentially lead to an unnecessary negative impact on the university’s operations, I have decided to make this public statement.” Mr Lander stressed two points: First that his investigation had just begun and should not be construed as showing there had been any impropriety; second, that the investigation was into possible misconduct or maladministration but not corruption.
As required by law, the investigation will be held in secret. The Advertiser is bound by the ICAC Act and heavily restricted on what it can or cannot report.
From here the investigation will run its course. It is not known if findings will be made public.
The future for the bright star Prof Rathjen is equally unclear.
But, on any level, it is a seismic course of events.