ACADEMIC BOARD REPORT 1/98 - 28 JANUARY 1998

I think we all attended the recent Board meeting with the expectation that
a meeting held in January with an uncharacteristically short agenda (only
121 pages) would be brief. Well, it was a tad shorter than usual, but
there was a distinct feeling of debate expanding to fill the available
space.

This was the first meeting of the revised format agreed last year.
"Starring" of items now takes place before the meeting, and the agenda is
organized accordingly. Didn't seem that different, but I expect it will be
more noticeable for more agenda items.

As usual, we began with the Vice-Chancellor's Group report. Nothing too
much there. Alan Lindsay reported on the SIF outcomes, Maloney (arriving
late) told us about the view of a seminar of economists on the impact of
the Asian currency crisis (rivetting stuff; could be read about in most
newspapers), and the VC indulged in a little congratulation over the
appointment of Nick Saunders as the new Dean of Medicine. This was
considered something of a coup. David de Kretser (the main internal
candidate I hear) will be acting in the meantime.

The main starred item, which took up the bulk of the meeting was a
recommendation from UEC that an "Honours" level of Masters degrees be
established. This was intended as a way of signalling which degrees were
further study in a discipline and suitable entry to a PhD program, and
which were primarily coursework degrees which were not appropriate as an
entry to a later research degree. The proposal had been developed by a
joint UEC/PhD & Schol working party, and was presented to the meeting by
Max King, who seemed to me to be quite uncomfortable about the whole
thing.

The proposal was debated at length, with strong support from all over
BusEco, and reasonably strong opposition from Board members in Science and
Engineering. John Rosenberg supported it. Apparently the distinction is
made in several other Australian universities. One of the
counter-arguments was the perceived degradation in the value of existing
Masters degrees.

The proposal was approved on a show of hands; I thought the voting was
fairly close.

Among the non-starred items were:

- the final sinking of the FIT proposal that PhD theses go out for
examination in loose binding. This was opposed by the PhD & Scholarships
Committee on totally fallacious grounds (IMNSHO). We have to keep fighting
on this.

- a report on a standard point allocation for subjects, with a
recommendation that 3, 6 and 12-point subjects be used, with 6-point
subjects the standard. Steering Committee asked that it be referred back
to the UEC for consideration of more issues, some of which, e.g. "a more
effective time-tabling system as a possible alternative" are just
nonsense. (A few days later I bumped into Kristina Macrae, the Science 
Faculty's ADT just after a UEC meeting, and she was in a rage because the
proposal, upon which a major restructuring of the BSc is waiting, has been
held up even longer.)

In my last report I promised to add a pen-portrait of another academic
Board personality, and I thought I'd say a few words about the former Dean
of Medicine, Robert Porter. Robert is now off being Foundation Dean of
Medicine at JCU, having been a major figure at Monash for years. His
impeccably-suited form could always be found in the inner row at Board
meeting, and he had a very forceful speaking style, with always that tinge
of suppressed emotion. I gather he was never the most popular person in
his own Faculty, and had a tendency to get into rages at meetings. I met
him a couple of times, and he was always most charming. His field is
neuro-physiology, and he was alarmingly well-informed on robotics.

About 5 years ago Monash re-established the position of DVC-Research, and
Robert was appointed to the position. I recall Cliff Bellamy, who was
involved in the selection, remarking that he had never seen such a
formidable CV. It was not to be a long reign. No sooner had Robert taken up
the position than Ian Chubb arrived to take up the "Senior DVC" position
vacated by John Hay. Robert and Ian apparently had a long history of mutual
enmity, so Robert resigned the DVC position and resumed the Deanship of 
Medicine. Since Ian Chubb's time at Monash was quite short, I wonder if
that step was regretted.

I think Porter's attitude and style is admirably stated in a memo he
sent to Robert Pargetter in early early 1994 about the introduction of
special gowns for Deans. This memo was CCed all over the place, so I am
sure by now I am breaking no confidences in relaying the following
(scanned from a rather grainy fax):

   I have just become aware of a decision (made, I gather by the Executive)
   that Deans will wear a "corporate-image" specially-designed gown at
   graduation ceremonies. I can well understand the desire of the University to
   upgrade the pomp which accompanies the ceremony, by producing better
   quality garb for the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Registrar and other
   University "officials" who represent the institutional presence on these
   occasions.  But the Faculty presence is an academic one in which the Dean
   is presenting candidates who have reached the academic standards for
   which be is responsible and which he represents.  In other situations,
   the Dean is expected to be a manager, a teacher or a researcher.  But,
   on this occasion he stands before the University and the community as the
   senior academic in the fields represented by his Faculty.  In my own
   case, I have a senior doctorate (earned) in Medicine from the University
   of Oxford.  This entitles me to membership of the most senior academic
   ranks of international medicine. Monash should be proud that its Dean of
   Medicine appears in academic dress which links the Monash Faculty of
   Medicine to that highest international level of academia. I know that
   the same may be said of the Deans of other Faculties.
   
   I do not consider that it is appropriate to ask me to dress as if I were in
   a Walt Disney movie about a mid-west junior college, or about to perform
   in the Mikado.  Had I had an opportunity to comment on this proposal at the
   Committee of Deans I would have spoken strongly against it.  Am I now to
   be required to dress up for each school play?  If so, I respectfully
   request an opportunity to return to the debate of separate,
   Faculty-based graduation ceremonies.  We would welcome the opportunity to
   do this in Medicine and I believe that our graduates would find it more
   meaningful.

   Yours

   Robert Porter

Jim Breen
February 1998