Our Chancellor's inaugural address

The Chancellor's full address is below.

Thank you all for coming.

Now, I’m not sure I’ve ever given a speech where my immediate predecessor has not only been in the audience – but is also looking over my shoulder from a portrait!

As I worked alongside Belinda during the Chancellor transition period, I often thought she must have had to be in two places at once to get everything done.

And now that has come to pass – I think we actually do have two Belindas!

Belinda – thank you for coming today and thank you for your incredible service to the University.

Now, while I was born in Western Australia, and studied in New Zealand and the US, I have been pleased to call myself a Sydneysider for many years now.

And throughout my working life I have seen the impact of the incredible education and research of the University of Sydney for our city and state.

However, since becoming Chancellor I have learned so much more about what happens here – thanks to the outstanding people of the University and the fantastic work taking place across all our faculties and schools.

But of course, and at risk of understatement, it has also been a busy and challenging few months.

The university sector is facing some significant challenges and is under scrutiny in the media and in politics in a way that is perhaps without precedent. 

Firstly, we have seen the unacceptable rise of antisemitism on our campuses and in our society – and the recent launch of the federal Senate Inquiry into antisemitism on university campuses.

Before I go any further, I want to be very clear: we do not – and we will not – condone any form of racism, threats to safety, hate speech, intimidation, threatening speech, bullying or unlawful harassment. 

We unequivocally stand for a safe and inclusive university, and respect people of all backgrounds and beliefs.

In these challenging times, it is crucial to provide a safe, welcoming, and vibrant campus for all. To ensure we listen to each other carefully and disagree well.

While we have already taken some action, we must – and we will – do more.

And the Senate and I are fully committed to actively working with our Vice-Chancellor, Mark Scott, to ensure that our university environment is free from any form of discrimination.

This in no way diminishes our commitment to academic freedom or freedom of expression, and we recognise getting this balance right is a collective challenge.

Secondly, the federal parliament is considering legislation that could have significant educational and economic cost for the nation. Following decades of under-investment in the university system – by both sides of politics – some of the proposed policy changes on international student numbers threaten to have an adverse effect on Australia’s universities, let alone our standing as a nation that welcomes and values different skills and perspectives from around the world.

Both of these issues present significant challenges for us and the entire university sector.

The University is facing some new challenges, has faced challenges before

In the face of these current challenges, I have been learning about the University’s history.

So, I thought I might begin my inaugural speech this afternoon by reflecting a little on how the University has responded to challenging times in the past – hopefully history can help us navigate the future.

I’ve already referenced Belinda’s portrait, but looking around this Great Hall at some of the other portraits demonstrates how the University has been able to adapt and respond to challenge and change throughout our history.

I just referred to the current government’s reform plans. Over there we have a portrait of Sir Herman Black, Chancellor from 1970 to 1990 who, working with the VC, guided the University through the major Dawkins reforms, which had a transformational impact on the sector, and the nation.  At the University of Sydney, we took on several new entities such as the Conservatorium of Music, and our student numbers rose from 18,000 to 29,000 students in just two years, bringing significant logistical and cultural challenges.

Or step back a few more decades to the challenges of the Second World War and its aftermath, when Charles Bickerton Blackburn was Chancellor.  Along with our peer universities, our research and education not only played a major role in the war effort, but also in the postwar reconstruction of the economy.

Of particular interest to me is how under Blackburn’s Chancellorship, the University was also at the forefront of the computer revolution in the 1950s and 60s in Australia, enabling a unique partnership with industry and government.

The University of Sydney was home to Australia’s first computer in 1949 and its replacement SILLIAC in the 1950s – at a time when there were only a few dozen computers in the world.

SILLIAC saved University researchers many thousands of hours in their work – but it also ran Australia’s first computer payroll system for what is now Australia Post, and was used by organisations like Woolworths, Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric and the banks, who then went on to buy their own computers. The University was a pioneer – it was really at the forefront of technology innovation.

I’ll return to this topic of technology and the University later, but I first wanted to talk about one other Chancellor, this time from the early decades of the University’s history.

William Montague Manning, Chancellor from 1878 to 1895 (whose statue is behind me here on the stage), is well known for driving the bold decision that made us one of the world's first universities to admit women on equal terms with men. It is pleasing that today three-quarters of our Executive team are women, and that the proportion of female professors has risen to 37 percent from around 20 percent a decade ago – and we are committed to continued action on increasing equity and diversity.

But the other reason I wanted to highlight Manning today, was his success in securing an increase in government funding, at a time when we were under public pressure to launch new courses in areas critical to the development of NSW, such as medicine, law, agricultural and veterinary science, and engineering. Today our research and teaching in these areas has worldwide impact.

As Julia Horne and Geoffrey Sherington note in their history of the University, Manning’s negotiations with government were boosted by the news of the 1880 bequest from John Henry Challis, which helped him articulate to late 19^th-century colonial society the value of expanding into these new academic fields.

And, of course, the Challis bequest was one of the earliest examples of philanthropy playing a major role in the University’s ability to propel social change.

I could tell many more stories from the pictures and statues in this hall – but I know you didn’t come here for a history lesson!

However, there are two common threads from what I’ve spoken about that I’d like to highlight.

First, the achievements of the University in responding to challenging times were clearly the result of many people working together, not just the Chancellors who have their portrait hanging in this hall!

It was about Chancellors working with Vice-Chancellors and their leadership teams and the broader University community in pursuit of achieving a shared goal.

And, just like Belinda before me, I am committed to working closely with Mark Scott and his team as we progress the University’s 2032 Strategy.

The second common thread is that the University has been attentive to the needs of the nation throughout its 175-year history – and has always been outward looking.

We may be Australia’s first and oldest university. But we stand for much more than being the first.

Because the University of Sydney was founded for a purpose: to respond to the needs of NSW as society was transforming.

It is no different today – we must be driven by serving our community.

A changing world

Of course we do face a changing world once again.

You could argue we’re on the cusp of a new era.

If we look at these portraits and what these past University leaders have had to contend with in terms of societal change – perhaps the last 30 years of (relative) stability have been the exception rather than the norm.

We could be “entering a decade of disorientation” to quote a recent report from our Business School.

The University’s 2032 Strategy, released two years ago, notes that “In looking beyond our sector, the external outlook could hardly be more confronting.”

Certainly, we are dealing with geopolitical, economic and climate instability that together make for a complex and confronting outlook.

And we’re living through technological change of a pace and scale that, I think, is at least on par with previous changes in terms of its impact.

Let me now spend a few moments reflecting on why this matters.

The common theme of my career has been how technology can inspire innovation and transformation. I have always been interested in how we experience technology as individuals, and in the broader positive impact technological innovation can have on our society.

There’s no doubt this brings challenges. Technology is causing fragmentation of information and polarisation of views that is contributing to inequality; commentary on social media isn’t held to the same standards as in traditional media; and GenAI is changing the way we live, work and learn. All of this is having an impact on the geopolitical, economic and environmental uncertainties I mentioned a few moments ago.

But think about the opportunities it brings to reinvent ourselves: greater accessibility of technology and information is helping to shrink the world and enabling collaboration on a scale and speed we’ve not seen before.

For Australia’s political, business and academic communities, these changes give us a fresh opportunity to tackle the tyranny of distance – and to nurture new sectors that will help increase the complexity of our economy and become less reliant on the resources sector.

So how can we respond to this changing world – as our forebears did – to craft the future for our University? A future where we are equipped to support all parts of our community through the transformation and disorientation of the years to come, from the Sydney CBD to the thriving diversity of western Sydney, to communities right across NSW.

First of all, we must remain true to our purpose, which has not changed in the 175 years since our foundation. In other words, we must ensure we are preparing the young people of this country – and now those who join us from overseas – to be effective leaders in an increasingly complex and digital world.

Second, we need to ensure that our research is both helping to inform the development and use of these new technologies. And just as the SILLIAC computer helped to transform research in the 1950s and 60s, we must reap the benefits of new technologies as we continue to invest in research across our faculties and flagship multidisciplinary initiatives.

Remember, universities invest in research with a singular goal: to advance our understanding of the world and address its most pressing challenges for the greater good. The work that happens here and on campuses around the country plays an essential role in helping us all lean into the big issues we face.

Lastly, we must focus on what technological advances mean for the University in the here and now. We must recognise that sometimes the legacy of being the country’s oldest university has held us back.  Many of our staff and students feel that our processes and systems – which have evolved over many, many decades – get in their way.

Let me talk a little more about that final point. The University’s 2032 strategy aspires to become “a better place to work, and a place that works better”. That might sound self-evident to some. But I like this aspiration for two reasons.

First, it challenges us to think about the people we are serving. We want our students to be challenged here – but challenged by the rigor of their education, not because of the complexity of our administration. Similarly, we want our academics to excel because of the support we provide them, not despite it.

Second, the strategy inspires us as it talks about “being better” – not the best. And while we certainly want to stand among the world’s top universities in terms of our academic excellence, if we are to get there – and stay there – we must continually aspire to be better. The moment we think we are the best, we will slip.

As we contemplate ever-accelerating change, our opportunity is not simply to master the new rules of the game in how this or that technological innovation might apply to education, or research, or to the administration of the University – but to be able to adapt quickly enough to new situations as they unfold.

A great example was how the University was recently recognised as a leader in the integration of GenAI into our curriculums in a responsible way. We need to have a mindset that is always ready to adapt and change. We need to have an ecosystem that is nimble enough to respond to the imperative for change – or to disruptions that inevitably lie ahead.

We have reinvented ourselves before and we can do it again

I’ve spoken about how the University is facing some new challenges – and how it has successfully faced many challenges throughout its history.

I’ve spoken about how technological changes need to drive a rethink of how we operate, teach, learn and research – but without losing our focus on academic excellence, student experience and outstanding research.

As I prepare to conclude, let me turn to one final portrait on the wall, but of a Vice-Chancellor this time, rather than a Chancellor.

In his 2008 valedictory address on this stage, Professor Gavin Brown said that:

“The almost unreasonable persistence of universities as institutions through the ages is based on constant reinvention and adaptation to a changing context.”

I couldn’t agree with that sentiment more, of the need for constant reinvention and adaptation… although I might disagree with Professor Brown’s wry notion of “unreasonable persistence”… I hope we can always be reasonable!

So, today, my concluding point is that we have reinvented ourselves before, driven by the needs of the communities we serve, and we can do it again.

When we were founded, we were the only university in the colony. We were founded before the nation of Australia was created. Today, we are one of many excellent universities in Australia – so we must recognise we need to continually earn our right to serve.

Australia’s model of higher education is being disrupted right now and there will doubtless be many more disruptions to come – for universities, and for society more broadly.

So how do we adapt to make sure our work here at the University of Sydney is ever-more relevant? How do we become sufficiently ‘match fit’ to lead and thrive in this changing world?

I am looking forward to the privilege of working with our Senate Fellows, Mark and the University Executive and their teams, and with our community of donors and supporters, to answer these questions and contribute to the betterment of this nation.

As we do so, we need to be proactive in our engagement with our city, with our state, with industry, with government and with other universities across the nation.

Because a strong University of Sydney – and a strong Australian university sector as a whole – will have a significant positive impact on Australia – economically, socially and environmentally.

And if we succeed in working together – both within and beyond the University – to adapt to the exciting opportunities that lie ahead of us all, we can, together, write a compelling next chapter in the history of this great university.

Because whatever the circumstances may be, whatever the challenges we face – really great organisations can always create their own future!

Thank you all for coming this evening.