Funds row hits Western civilisation course

The long-term funding for the groundbreaking Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation uni­­versity courses is under a cloud.

Professor Glyn Davis is the chief executive of the Paul Ramsay Foundation. Picture: Aaron Francis

The long-term funding for the groundbreaking Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation uni­­versity courses is under a cloud after the $3bn Paul Ramsay Found­ation turned down a reques­t for guaranteed support beyond 2026.

The Western civilisation course, based on the study of great books, has been adopted by three universities and is under consideration by others.

The governing Ramsay found­ation will fund the centre for eight years from 2018 and will review the funding in 2022 but, at this stage, has refused to guarantee funding beyond 2026.

Since at least last year there has been an impasse between the boards of the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation and the Paul Ramsay Foundation over the application­ of a $3bn endowment to the centre.

Part of the tensions between the two entities was the lack of any clear mandate for the found­ation at the time of the health billionaire’s death.

The long- term insecurity over the funding comes after two years of controversy about the course, which embroiled the centre in an ideological battle with universities and academics.

The course is designed to ­cultivate intellectual leaders of the futur­e within the Australian university system and there is also a postgraduate scholarship fund for Australians to study at prestig­ious overseas universities.

Former Liberal prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbot­t are both on the centre’s board. It was Mr Abbott who first raised the idea of the centre and Rhodes-type scholarships with Mr Ramsay.

The Weekend Australian understands the board of the Centre for Western Civilisation wanted a guarantee beyond 2026 for at least a new eight-year term with at least the same funding. The board of the Ramsay foundation did not accept the proposal.

Professor Glyn Davis, former vice-chancellor of Melbourne University and the chief executive of the of the Ramsay found­ation, denied any conflict between the foundation and the centre.

Professor Davis told The Weekend Australian: “The foundation has committed eight years of funding to the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation, with a mid-term review.

“By comparison, federal teaching and research grants for projects typically last for three or five years.

“The foundation and centre continue to work well together.”

Another foundation board member said the organisation “does not do long-term grants, or grants in perpetuity”, nor does it take applications.