Faculty of Economics and Commerce
March 2004
alumni news From the Dean’s Desk
“Like it or not, we live in interesting times…” When preparing to write this message to the Alumni I thought of this quote. Little did I realise that it came from an address given by Robert F. Kennedy at the University of Capetown in 1966. While the Faculty isn’t facing the turbulent times experienced in South Africa during the decades that followed that address, it is nonetheless living in interesting times. The most interesting is the challenge of responding to the implementation of the new Higher Education Support Act (commonly referred to as “the Nelson reforms”). As Faculty Alumni I know you are interested in maintaining the quality and prestige of the degrees offered by the Faculty. I believe the Nelson reforms provide us with an opportunity to do just that, although at the time of writing, the whole implementation program is yet to be considered by the University Council. To the extent that there are additional revenues generated by the these reforms, they should enable us to improve the
quality of the education we provide to students and also allow us to offer more places to meet the growing demand of Australian students wanting to obtain a B.Com. Against these opportunities, I believe that we must balance the need to allocate additional revenues to ensure that we increase the access to our Faculty by high quality students regardless of means, and policies are currently being developed to achieve this goal. Issues under consideration include plans to increase the number of scholarships for undergraduate students and to implement policies that will ensure that a significant portion of government funded places are reserved for students whose social, economic or educational circumstances may have influenced their performance in Year 12. There is no doubt that for some students and their parents the Nelson reforms will represent additional costs if a decision is taken by the University to raise the HECS charges. However, all students, whether offered a HECS or a fee place, will be able to defer these costs until they are in full employment. Improving quality, equity and access is a difficult balancing act. This is the challenge we must meet and in itself makes for interesting times especially if we consider that any new Labor government may overturn many of the reforms! The University year has started with the usual flurry and fun of orientation week. The Faculty again attracted the very best students nationally and internationally into its undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The growth in postgraduate programs continues to escalate with the total number of students enrolled in 2004 exceeding 913 compared to 400 in 2000. To maintain program quality and to meet the demands of an expanding student population has required a substantial expansion of the Faculty’s infrastructure. Through the efforts of Professor Ross Williams (Dean, 1993-2002) and Professor Peter Dawkins (Dean, 2003) our Faculty is now well on its way to
having world-class facilities. Late last year some Faculty Office staff along with academic staff in the marketing discipline of the Department of Management moved into the fourth floor of Building A in University Square. In April of this year, the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research as well as staff associated with the Masters of Business and Information Technology will relocate to this building. Many of our postgraduate subjects are already being taught there. The University has recently sought planning approval for a new 11storey Economics and Commerce building in Berkeley Street for completion in 2007 with final approval to be considered in April. These two buildings more than double the facilities we now have available for staff and students. It also enables us to incorporate the most recent technology developments with high quality teaching facilities. A major priority over the next few years is to enhance further the Faculty’s research profile. While our Faculty is considered to be the best research faculty in Australia it continues to strive to be “one of the best” in the world. A world class faculty is one that is research led. continued page 2
In this Issue... Welcome Economic & Social Outlook Orientation Faculty Facts & Figures Alumni Scholarship Max Corden Lecture Mentors Celebrity Research Targeted Access Program Australia Day Honours Events Calender Students Win
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Faculty of Economics and Commerce Alumni Newsletter 1