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Town-Gown Distinction Minimised
7 May 2005
The increasing scale of discussions this week on how we will
celebrate early next year 10 years since opening has prompted some
thoughts about how the University's campus has been developed.
There are still the occasional staff, students and visitors who
compare USC with universities elsewhere, and most of those
comparisons are fairly pointless because in academic terms, the
resources available to us, and in physical planning our
circumstances have been dramatically more different than for other
new Greenfield universities in this country's history.
If we focus on the campus specifically, some staff feel that
there are insufficient notice boards, for example. Some object
that posters cannot be placed on walls. Some students regret that
there isn't a bar or tavern on campus. Others want a public 24/7
ATM wall outlet. And the list of 'wants' and 'don't wants' goes
on.
The explanations for the directions the University has taken lie
in the community forums that pre-dated the opening, over 10 years
ago, at the same time that a campus master plan was being
developed.
Again and again, the community groups emphasised the closeness
of the Mooloolah River National Park, the need for a public
institution to be an environmental exemplar, that the campus needed
to signal a concern with quality and standards, and that there was
a need for the University to be engaged in the issues confronting
the region at the time, and into the future.
Planning responded to these expressed needs, and there has been
a consistent adherence to those planning principles.
Many appreciate the emphasis on environmental sensitivity and
why we abhor litter and vandalism, and prohibit domestic animals on
campus. A student approached me last week and offered to dismantle
a pebble-bed which had been littered with cigarette ends by
smokers. She wanted to clean them out and reconstruct the pebbles
in a distinctive way. I thought it was an impressive example of
the way that most of us care deeply about this special environment,
with a planned green-belt link to the National Park.
That example bears also on standards and respect, and that the
University ought to be communicating that it is about quality and
values that are significant in a sustainable community.
Engagement with the region takes many forms, but it bears on
campus development in that we do not want to duplicate facilities
that are available in the community, or the University could become
insular and potentially develop its own campus life that over time
would deter community engagement. Thus taverns in the local area
are more appropriately utilised than building our own, with scarce
resources. There are lots of services nearby and utilising them
fully can benefit the local economy and can at best minimise the
often significant gap that exists between 'town and gown'
elsewhere. We have consistently emphasised that that 'town and
gown' distinction has little applicability at USC, as we try to
integrate and engage seamlessly with the community.
As we continue with plans for our 10 year celebrations, we can
reflect again on our strengths and weaknesses, ahead of a scheduled
master plan review in 2006.
Professor Paul Thomas is Vice-Chancellor of University of
the Sunshine Coast.