University needs to seek social licence for move
WHILE most universities in the world would dream of having an inner-city location like the University of Tasmania’s Sandy Bay campus, the university itself dreams of relocating to the Hobart CBD, which already serves as the beleaguered traffic crossroads for the whole of greater Hobart.
Former premier, David Bartlett (Talking Point, September 8) defends the move, but steers carefully around the herd of elephants in the room. He urges “redefining student learning”, “collaborating with industry” and creating “contemporary spaces which are easily accessed”, but never explains why these sensible objectives require abandoning the Sandy Bay campus or why the Hobart community has been left out of the decision-making process.
The sheer size of the university, both physically and in its thousands of staff and students, means a CBD relocation has enormous implications for the citizens of Hobart. It’s extraordinary that the university has never obtained either the endorsement of the Hobart City Council or of the citizens of Hobart to the move. The council has only been invited to help the university implement its unilateral decision.
It’s a mystery as to how an institution of higher learning could have gone for so long without noticing that this project has other stakeholders and needs a “social licence”. Even the university’s own “Statement of Values” requires it to “actively partner with the community in which it lives”.
The good news is that the university has new leadership. Newly appointed Chancellor Alison Watkins and Vice-Chancellor Professor Rufus Black now have an opportunity to get it right, by collaborating with the Hobart City Council and the citizens of Hobart on a comprehensive analysis of the implications of the move.
If that review shows that the proposed relocation would be detrimental to Hobart then, consistent with its “Statement of Values”, I am confident that the university would modify its plans.
If the review endorsed the relocation as good for Hobart then the university could proceed. Michael Foster
Hobart