IN a statement on Wednesday the University of Newcastle didn't actually say it was ending its unique relationship with seven of Australia's leading architects - six of them winners of the industry's highest honour, the Gold Medal.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A university spokesperson said the institution was "enormously grateful" for the "support" Richard Leplastrier, Brit Andresen, Lindsay and Kerry Clare, Peter Stutchbury and Lawrence and Andrea Nield had provided "over a number of years".
But times had changed, the university implied, without actually specifying what that meant. The school of architecture's student cohort had "shifted over the past decade", leaving the public to wonder if the "shift" is a physical thing, a geographical thing or something else entirely.
"As a result we are transitioning to a visiting architects program that will allow for a diversity of practitioners who come from a number of countries, a diversity of practice types, and collectively bring with them a broader mix of experience," the university ended.
Professor Stutchbury, who won the Gold Medal in 2015, suspects the "shift" the university hasn't defined is actually an increase in international students. While other universities have much higher percentages of international students, the University of Newcastle has a substantial number.
That is not necessarily a bad thing. Certainly universities have relied on international student fees to meet substantial federal funding cuts for years. But it is worth considering what "diversifying" architecture teachers at an Australian university, and choosing visiting architects over more long-term relationships between mentors and students, says about the degree that will now be offered at Newcastle.
Certainly students will benefit from, presumably, a broader range of views under a visiting architects program. But there is force in Peter Stutchbury's argument that breadth has been chosen over depth of education, not just at Newcastle but in most other Australian universities.
Reaching out to the world to compete for students has meant the end of a uniquely Australian perspective of architectural excellence at the University of Newcastle. It is that excellence, that uniquely Newcastle experience, that past and present students are fighting for.
Issue: 39,481.
