The political fixer enlisted to run the University of Canberra (UC) has promised “rejuvenation” at the troubled institution, where he concedes “recent times have not been easy”.
Newly installed vice-chancellor Bill Shorten promised to approach the job with the persistence of a bulldog and a history of “fighting to renew institutions that are worth keeping”.
He cited previous leadership stints at the Australian Workers’ Union, which he helped restore “when it was on the brink of being dismantled”, and the federal Labor Party, which he helped put back in a winnable position following a heavy electoral?defeat in 2013.
More recently, he has worked with community advocates and political opponents to reform the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
“Adversity does not define us,” Shorten told the university community and former political colleagues at a 14 February investiture ceremony. “Our response to difficult times defines us.”
The difficult times include a worsening budgetary situation?that has necessitated a restructure expected to claim more than 200 jobs. The university has endured a string of interim leaders, one of whom left abruptly after losing confidence in the governing council, and the early departure of former substantive vice-chancellor Paddy Nixon, whose sector record A$1.785 million (?898,000) final year pay package has never been explained.
Shorten is the latest non-academic to run an Australian university, after public service bosses Mark Scott and Renée Leon were appointed to lead Sydney and Charles Sturt universities. Across the Tasman Sea, former New Zealand deputy prime minister Grant Robertson has taken the helm at the University of Otago.
Critics say such appointments are accelerating the diluting of the academic voice in the administration of an increasingly corporate higher education sector.
Shorten also arrives with baggage from his political days. The reported that the announcement of his appointment, just 15 days after he applied for the position, was made?by UC chancellor Lisa Paul, who he had recruited to review the NDIS when he was the minister overseeing the scheme.
The reported that his former ministerial speechwriter, who had earned A$300,000 a year working for him and his department, had also taken up a position at the university.
Shorten told the ceremony that he was not “in the mould” of his predecessors “but I know I’m the right vice-chancellor for the University of Canberra at this time”.
“I’ve handled difficult issues as the CEO of the Australian Workers’ Union, as a minister, as an opposition leader – litigation, debt reduction, royal commissions, conflict, disinformation campaigns and restructuring. I’ve dealt with complex matters that require compassion and resolution.”
He highlighted commonalities between his previous and current jobs. “Neither a cabinet minister nor a vice-chancellor can expect to make change by edict. Unanimity can be scarce, consensus may periodically elude, but broad acceptance is vital to the legitimacy that is a meaningful prerequisite for enduring change.”
He also highlighted differences. “Politics is persuasion, too-often temporary alliances, and sometimes a forum where the truth is…unwelcome. Academia is both a contest of ideas and a meeting of minds, and a forum where precision, evidence and truth are supreme.”
