‘China-friendly’ Peter Hoj a likely University of Adelaide vice-chancellor

University of Queensland’s outgoing vice-chancellor emerges as surprising frontrunner for Adelaide post.

Outgoing University of Queensland vice-chancellor Peter Hoj. Picture: AAP

The University of Queensland’s outgoing vice-chancellor — embroiled in controversy over his close links with China — has emerged as a surprising frontrunner to head the University of Adelaide as it reels from a collapse in overseas enrolments and a ­corruption inquiry.

Professor Peter Hoj is in talks with the University of Adelaide to replace outgoing Peter Rathjen, who quit due to ill health this month amid an ongoing investigation into his conduct by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

While Professor Hoj has spent much of the past two years defending his closeness to China through his membership of the Beijing-backed Confucius Institute, he remains highly rated for his academic and financial achievements, running UQ for the past eight years and prior to that the University of South Australia.

He returned UQ to surplus by driving up overseas student numbers and securing new business partnerships, raising more than $400m of a targeted $500m through UQ’s new philanthropic program.

Under his tenure UQ rose from 90th to 55th on the international Academic Ranking of World ­Universities.

Prior to that he was instrumental at UniSA in developing the fledgling university’s reputation as a targeted vocational institution focused on producing job-ready graduates to meet the needs of business and industry.

The timing of his departure from UQ, where he retired as vice-chancellor this month, has proven perfect for the University of Adelaide, which confirmed last week it was looking for a new leader after The Australian broke the news of Professor Rathjen’s pending resignation.

The Danish-Australian academic was educated at the University of Copenhagen, majoring in biochemistry and chemistry, and holds an honorary doctorate from UA. He is a director and former board chairman of the Group of Eight Universities.

While neither Professor Hoj nor UA would comment on the speculation, The Australian understands his appointment has been discussed at the highest levels of the university and an announcement is imminent.

One source told The Australian that UA was unfazed by the criticism Professor Hoj had faced over the past two years after it emerged that the Chinese government had co-funded four courses in Chinese foreign policy, language and music while Professor Hoj was serving as an unpaid consultant to the Confucius Institute.

He no longer holds that ­position.

UQ has also been accused of heavy-handed tactics over its treatment of one of its students, pro-Hong Kong activist Drew Pavlou, who was suspended in May for two years by UQ for his campus activities which included posing in a biohazard suit outside the campus Confucius Institute holding a placard reading “Biohazard Zone”.

One well-placed source said UA was more interested in harnessing Professor Hoj’s research focus and business acumen and finding new ways to recoup the losses from overseas students due to the pandemic. With his UniSA background, Professor Hoj would also be well-placed to explore any resumption in merger talks between the two universities, which stalled in 2018, and which former UA council member Chris Schacht says must restart so that SA has one major university to bolster its research credentials.

UA has been battered by the lockdown and has gone from an expected $1bn in revenues this year to forecast losses of $250m over the next two years, with acting vice-chancellor professor Mike Brooks proposing a staff-wide pay cut last week to avoid 200 sackings and save $35m.

Professor Hoj has been succeeded as UQ vice-chancellor by Deborah Terry.