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The widening gap between rich and poor
1 November 2008
Many social commentators have claimed that there is a widening gap between the rich and poor, both within and between countries, and that process has accelerated in recent years. That process is also reflected in Australia’s universities.
In a week of detailed budget discussions with all our cost centre managers, I was again struck by how many good, innovative ideas there were within this University, yet our capacity to fund them is severely constrained.
USC has developed rapidly despite an unprecedented period of financial stifling of universities. OECD figures show clearly how severe that period has been. The national consequences of under-funding are becoming more evident as our competitors’ performance continues to exceed that of Australia.
But the Australian universities that have experienced the most severe excesses of restraint are the new and regional universities.
I watched a DVD during the week which focused on how two Brisbane universities and research institutes had benefitted from philanthropic donations augmented by State Government finance that had amounted to $1 billion over the last decade. In addition, they have extensive investment portfolios, many alumni, and can afford to spend millions on advertising to keep growing.
We also had the announcement on who were the likely beneficiaries of the Higher Education Endowment Fund allocations, and not surprisingly, seven of the GO8 universities are represented in the short list. The absence of support for high growth areas and regions is obvious.
The pattern follows that of so many other competitive funds, the criteria for which all favour the strong and the relatively wealthy universities.
No-one wants to see universities’ paths to world class status obstructed, but it is becoming a national problem when universities such as those in high growth regions are not given more support. But the power and influence wielded by those associated with major universities is clearly irresistible, and one powerful committee after another accentuates the gap between rich and poor, oblivious to equity considerations in the regions, where infrastructure provision generally, languishes.
The consequences are serious, and the provision of professionals for the new Sunshine Coast University Hospital will suffer in our region.
If the Bradley Review of Higher Education manages to unlock government monies, I hope both the world class aspirants in cities and also those who want to be world class in their regions, can both be supported, and not one to the exclusion of the other as has so often happened in the last decade or so.
Professor Paul Thomas AM is Vice-Chancellor at the University of the Sunshine Coast.