UQ ramps up interest in hosting Ramsay Centre

The University of Queensland is moving towards submitting a formal ‘expression of interest’ in the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation’s proposed US-style liberal arts course.

University of Queensland vice-chancellor Peter Hoj.

The University of Queensland is moving towards submitting a formal “expression of interest” in the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation’s proposed US-style liberal arts course, a contentious program that has already been publicly rejected by the Australian National University.

Ramsay chief executive Simon Haines has visited UQ in recent days, speaking at a high-level humanities symposium, escorting an international academic and apparently meeting key academics regarding the Western civilisation program.

Professor Haines spoke on the topic of “virtues and values in the liberal arts” at the symposium, along with Andrew Bonnell from UQ, a senior humanities academic who is also the National Tertiary Education Union organiser at the university.

Professor Haines was “definitely making a pitch for the Ramsay Centre”, Professor Bonnell said.

“He’s been certainly talking to a couple of senior people in humanities at UQ,” he added. “So there’s been some activity going on behind the formal talks.”

According to university sources, UQ’s expression of interest is due by October 12 and would “provide an opportunity for both parties to explore compatibility and areas of mutual interest — it does not signify a commitment beyond this,” UQ vice-chancellor Peter Hoj wrote in an email sent to staff last week.

“Any partnership would be contingent on agreement with UQ’s longstanding principles of institutional autonomy, intellectual freedom and independence — these are critical matters for the university.”

In his email, Professor Hoj said that a confidentiality agreement prevented wide consultation during the EOI phase, adding that “only senior humanities and social sciences staff and key executives are having input at this preliminary stage”.

It is understood the confidentiality agreement was stipulated by the Ramsay Centre.

The contentious Western civilisation program, to be funded to the tune of millions of dollars by the Ramsay Centre, is also under consideration at the University of Sydney, where more than 100 concerned humanities academics have signed an open letter rejecting the proposal.

Sydney and ANU academics have cited concerns regarding academic independence, and fears the Ramsay Centre might insist on oversight of curriculum and appointments for the course.

University of Sydney vice-chancellor Michael Spence put the Ramsay proposal to the board of the faculty of arts and social sciences earlier this month, as one stage in its journey of consultation, and it continues to be opposed by many academics.

A draft memorandum of understanding, Professor Spence said in an internal communication, would eventually go to the Ramsay board, which would “determine whether or not to enter into detailed negotiations on those terms”.

An early version of the MOU, he said, was “much more ‘donor hands off’ than any of our standard gift agreements, partly because we wanted to show how seriously we meant to protect the autonomy of the institution”.

Following the failure of the Ramsay proposal at ANU, the NTEU branch committee at UQ resolved to demand the university insist on autonomy and academic freedom as threshold principles, retain full control over staff appointment and management decisions and curriculum, and provide full transparency regarding all agreements with Ramsay.

Meanwhile, UQ was already reviewing and potentially cutting back on its humanities offerings in courses such as the bachelor of arts program, Professor Bonnell said.