ANU vice chancellor Brian Schmidt defends Western civilisation course move

ANU’s vice chancellor says “unprecedented’’ Ramsay Centre demands forced the rejection of a Western civilisation course.

ANU vice chancellor Brian Schmidt. Picture: AAP

The vice chancellor of the Australian National University has defended a decision to reject a new course in Western civilisation, insisting the institution is not “anti” Western values and that negotiations were far from complete.

Brian Schmidt, who has declined several interview requests from The Australian, told the ABC’s 7.30 program the decision to cease discussions with the Ramsay Centre was due to concerns of academic autonomy.

“This was done for one reason, and one reason only — academic autonomy,” Mr Schmidt said.

“Now, there’s been a lot of discussion out in the media by people who were not around the negotiating table, and so their discussions are not based in the reality that I faced.”

Mr Schmidt did not elaborate on what was asked by the Ramsay Centre, except to say the level of influence was “unprecedented” with any other program the university had run. He said the discussions were “advanced” but rejected the notion the proposed program was against the ANU’s values.

“I can only speak for the ANU, but the ANU is not anti-Western civilisation and, indeed, we have one of the most dynamic programs — not just in Australia, but the world,” he said.

“You know, among all this kerfuffle today, we were once again ranked as one of the top 25 universities in the world, and that’s the basis — that is based on that academic autonomy we have.

“We have more than 150 courses in areas around Western studies. It would take you 18 years to study all those courses at ANU.”

7.30 host Stan Grant asked Mr Schmidt about several courses offered by the university that, he said, had a “hostile or adversarial point of view” about Western civilisation.

“You’ve picked out three very specific courses from 150,” Mr Schmidt said. “Among those 150 courses, we cover things that are incredibly traditional.”

The decision followed threats of a backlash from the National Tertiary Education Union, which had claimed that the Ramsay Centre — chaired by former prime minister John Howard and with Liberal politician Tony Abbott on the board — sought to pursue a “narrow, radically conservative program to demonstrate and promulgate the alleged superiority of Western culture and civilisation”.

“Any association, real or perceived, with this divisive cultural and political agenda could potentially damage the intellectual reputation of the humanities at ANU and the ANU more broadly,” the union wrote in its letter to Mr Schmidt.

Politicians and conservative academics have since questioned how ANU had been able to successfully negotiate donations with foreign entities but had been unable to resolve any issues preventing the Ramsay Centre ­alliance from going ahead.

Mr Abbott this week pointed out the “hypocrisy” of the union opposing the course when the university had accepted funds from Dubai, Iran and Turkey in the past.

Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly has also accused the university of double standards. “They are accepting money from Iran. That’s a despotic government … that does everything to suppress academic freedoms, the freedoms of women,” Mr Kelly told Sky News.

“When it comes to a course on Western civilisation, absolutely, any course of Western civilisation is going to be pro-Western civilisation, simply because of the facts, because Western civilisation is why we have the great society that we have today.”