Dr. Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and Senator for NSW, has even written an open letter to Education Minister Jason Clare. She notes that the affected staff were never consulted in the formation of the academic change plan, and she calls for “Overhauling governance structures in universities to make them more democratic.”…[Read more]

Marilyn Rodrigues covered the story of ACU’s proposed cuts to the humanities for Catholic Weekly: https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/deep-cuts-to-acu-humanities-to-stem-growth-of-30m-deficit/

Michael McDonnell at the University of Sydney has posted an open letter against ACU’s proposed cuts to the humanities for the History Matters blog: https://historymatters.sydney.edu.au/

Veronica Lenard has also covered the story of ACU’s proposed cuts in the humanities for Honi Soit: http://honisoit.com/2023/09/acu-proposes-job-cuts-and-the-closure-of-a-research-program-and-institute/

The History Council of NSW has also issued a condemnation of staff cuts in the humanities at ACU: https://historycouncilnsw.org.au/staff-cuts-acu/

Most recently, Luara Ferracioli has written a fantastic opinion piece for ABC connecting the state of political debate in Australia to cuts in the humanities, including the one currently proposed by ACU’s new administration: https://www.abc.net.au/religion/ferracioli-referendum-absence-of-nuanced-debate-in-australia/102885810.

A humanities…[Read more]

ACU’s Miles Pattenden has also written a piece for ABC on the threat that the university’s cuts to the humanities pose to its reputation as an institute of higher education operating in the Catholic tradition: https://www.abc.net.au/religion/miles-pattenden-acu-lament-catholic-university/102856898

The Times Higher Education also put out a piece on the ACU change plan and its damaging effect on humanities departments and faculty that have been crucial in establishing the university’s international reputation: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/catholic-university-cuts-ability-engage-own-heritage

The Daily Nous covered ACU’s proposed academic change plan and its destructive effect on the Dianoia Institute of Philosophy early on, and it has posted multiple updates since: https://dailynous.com/2023/09/16/acu-proposes-closing-dianoia-institute/.

Thanks to scholars speaking out and signing petitions like the ones I’ve shared, the proposal by ACU’s new administration to pare down humanities jobs and disband entire institutes has come to the attention of the media, other academic institutions, and politicians. The Guardian was among the first to cover the story:…[Read more]

A petition against ACU’s proposed dissolution of the Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) department is also being circulated: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLAzmPu84ys2STLOX599BHoc53QmOm03upXJe3yqujeB1TiQ/viewform. Please sign and share it!

Another petition against ACU’s proposed cuts to humanities departments is being circulated by Australia’s National Tertiary Education Union at https://act.newmode.net/action/nteu/acu-senate-dont-make-staff-pay-acus-overspending. Even if you are not at an academic institution or in Australia, you are welcome and encouraged to sign and share with…[Read more]

To those who have not already seen the news on other social media sites, the current administration at Australian Catholic University (where I’m doing my PhD research) has released a change plan that recommends disbanding the Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) department, the Dianoia Institute of Philosophy, and other humanities departments.…[Read more]