More than 700 Macquarie staff united across six University venues last Tuesday (25 June 2019) for a mid-year Town Hall delivered by Vice-Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton.

The Town Hall is part of the University’s commitment to regular communication, ensuring staff are up-to-date with strategic priorities so that we can collectively celebrate our achievements.

For staff who missed the Town Hall, here are some of the key points from the Vice-Chancellor’s presentation.

Much to celebrate

• Among the recent achievements commended by the Vice-Chancellor were Associate Professor Ronika Power’s highly prestigious Crawford Medal; the progress to final stage of evaluation for one of our Centre of Excellence applications to the ARC; and recent graduation ceremonies when several thousand new graduates received their degrees.

 Global megatrends are impacting universities

• Notable social shifts include ageing populations, bigger cities and escalating networking power and connectedness.
• Global challenges such as food security, climate change, urbanisation, economic upheaval, and unpredictable epidemics remind us that Macquarie is “in the service of the big questions of today”.
• Universities in many countries are facing pressures from government, particularly regarding funding.
• All these highlight the need for universities to adapt and change to meet societal shifts while standing firm in defending the position of institutional citizenship of universities.

What do we stand for at Macquarie?

• In briefly reviewing the founding of the modern university, the Vice-Chancellor highlighted the different origins of universities around primacy of focused disciplines versus the search for breadth and integrated understanding.
• At Macquarie, we value a blend of those origins and are committed to both fields which educate students to specific careers whilst also protecting and celebrating the HASS disciplines which are the foundation of modern civic mindedness.
• Our shared vision for Macquarie – as documented in A Framing of Futures – is being realised through accomplishments such as the rollout of the Student Success Strategic Framework, growth in research income and recent ERA results.
• The communitarian spirit at Macquarie University is a critical element of our history, and it is strengthened through our shared core values.

The challenges

• Excellent and dedicated work is in full swing to realise the transformation of the curriculum architecture in 2020. The Vice-Chancellor thanked all those across the campus for their significant work in this area.
• There is more work to be done to improve our rankings, however we need to remember that renown can be measured through a number of lenses.
• Noting the current media focus on freedom of speech and academic freedom, the Vice-Chancellor emphasised that he strongly supports the promotion of free speech on university campuses as responsible institutions in our democracy. He noted freedom of speech and academic freedom are of fundamental importance to the life and vitality of a university.  

Looking ahead

• Major campus developments such as the Central Courtyard, Arts Precinct and Clinical Education Building are helping us realise our vision for a sustainable and future-focused campus.
• The Curriculum Transformation work being done across the Faculties will equip Macquarie students for the career transitions of their futures.
• The University will be particularly focused on service improvement for students over the next 12 months, through Project Beacon.
• Systems improvements are also expected in the areas of HR and Finance.

Staff Q&A

The Vice-Chancellor welcomed questions from staff as part of the Town Hall. He received an overwhelming response and appreciates colleagues’ engagement and interest. Answers will be shared in the coming weeks.

Feedback?

If you would like to provide any feedback on the Vice-Chancellor’s mid-year Town Hall, or suggestions for future event topics, please email vc@mq.edu.au.