Kevin Scarce and Peter Rathjen: University of Adelaide wasn’t seeking a takeover in merger discussions
SPECULATION has that the University of Adelaide actively withdrew from merger discussions and that it sought a takeover. None of this is true, writes Kevin Scarce and Peter Rathjen.
THIS year more than 9000 South Australians will have undertaken their tertiary studies interstate.
That represents an exodus of about 350 school classrooms of young people, most to the eastern states, taking with them their power of intellect and collective future potential.
SA is on a quest for socio-economic renewal. More than ever we need those young people to stay, to learn and to contribute their knowledge and skills to the state in which they were born and raised.
Not only do we need to retain students, we must also attract them from far and wide.
We know that communities with strong universities at their centre will prosper across coming decades — socially, economically and culturally. It’s within this context that the University of Adelaide decided to consider the potential for a merger within the state.
Mergers are not easy to do — we know that, and we’ve seen it first-hand. But on October 22, the university’s council believed that, despite how difficult the process could be, our merger discussions with UniSA were worth continuing because of the long-term benefits for SA.
There has been recent public speculation about the failure of merger discussions. It has been represented that the University of Adelaide actively withdrew from merger discussions, that we were seeking a takeover and that we wanted our leadership to dominate.
None of this is true. At an early stage of discussions, our council had committed to an independent, open, competitive process for the leadership of a merged university, should that occur.
An independent evaluation of the benefits, costs and risks of a merger indicated that a truly great, and well-run, merged university would mean stronger global rankings, more innovation in educational offerings, and likely more funding for research discoveries. It would mean having a comprehensive university that is equivalent to the best institutions in the eastern states and among the best in the world.
A truly great university would retain more students from SA and attract many more from interstate and overseas. It would attract global companies and give our researchers and students alike the opportunity to work closely in partnership with business and industry.
At no stage has our resolve changed on what we’re trying to achieve for the benefit of this and future generations.
The needs of the state have not changed. Merger, or no merger, SA universities must evolve to meet the challenges driving our young people away, and that’s exactly what the University of Adelaide intends to do.
Kevin Scarce is University of Adelaide chancellor and Peter Rathjen is vice-chancellor