Our next debate: ‘free speech has its limits’
Written by Steven Schwartz on June 30th, 2008
Between 1901 to 1973 more than 500 books were banned in Australia, and for much of that time the list of forbidden publications was kept a secret by various federal agencies.
These titles are revealed in a new work – called Banned in Australia - edited by Macquarie researchers Dr Nicole Moore and Dr Marita Bullock, […]
So, what about a new email system?
Written by Steven Schwartz on June 27th, 2008
The New South Wales Department of Education has bypassed Outlook and other email systems deciding instead to move their one million plus email accounts to Gmail.
Macquarie University did the same thing for student email accounts in September last year. Macquarie students have six gigabytes of storage, so no more annoying notices about exceeding the allocated […]
How Macquarie’s MULTILIT transforms young lives
Written by Steven Schwartz on June 23rd, 2008
Most people who choose a career in education do so “to make a difference”. They work in schools, colleges and universities across all kinds of areas – science, maths, languages, history and the like – and they dedicate themselves to improving the lives of the students they come into contact with.
I recently read a […]
Philanthropy: not just a matter of give and take
Written by Steven Schwartz on June 18th, 2008
Every year Americans give millions of dollars to their universities. Leading institutions such as Harvard and Stanford, for example, receive quite extraordinary sums - hundreds of millions of dollars.
An article in University World News this week pointed out that the value of Harvard’s endowment – donated money or other financial assets - grew to […]
Macquarie moves to be a top research university
Written by Steven Schwartz on June 18th, 2008
A front-page report in the Australian Higher Education section today says that university leaders have generally endorsed the Government’s Bradley Review “as practical and comprehensive”.
I see nothing wrong with the aims of the review, which is to develop a “diverse, globally focussed and competitive higher education sector with quality, responsive institutions following clear, distinctive missions”.
But […]
Equity in higher ed: reasons to be optimistic
Written by Steven Schwartz on June 11th, 2008
This week Macquarie University played host to Acting Prime Minister and Education Minister Julia Gillard as she released the Federal Government’s higher education review discussion paper.
The review, headed by the former vice-chancellor of the University of South Australia, Emeritus Professor Denise Bradley AC - who was also here at Macquarie for the launch – is […]
Laying down the law on happiness
Written by Steven Schwartz on June 5th, 2008
As a vice-chancellor I get many requests to speak at various functions around the country. One that I couldn’t resist dropped onto my desk recently: an invitation to discuss the topic ‘If money can’t make us happy, can government?’
A survey conducted in the UK earlier this year pointed out that although household wealth and expenditure […]