Peter Rathjen: Serial sexual predator, pedophile protector, and manifestation of all that is rotten at the University of Adelaide? [Update July 20, 2020: Rathjen resigns due to "ill health"]

Peter Rathjen is a well known biochemist and molecular biologist, and, most recently, was a Vice-Chancellor and president of the University of Adelaide in Australia. Earlier this month, however, he was forced to step down when he became the subject of a misconduct investigation by South Australia's Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC.)

ICAC investigations are normally top secret, with serious penalties for journalists or individuals who divulge confidential information. Although the inquiry has been widely reported in the Australian press, as far as I know only The Australian has provided a reason for it: That Rathjen had engaged in "a personal relationship with a staff member." (Depending on where you access this article, it may be behind a paywall.)

(Just 24 hours earlier, the university's Chancellor, Kevin Scarce, resigned his position. While the reasons are still unclear, there are no allegations of misconduct being reported as of yet.)

Although I have talked to sources at the university, I cannot claim to know more than that at the moment, as information concerning the matter has been closely guarded. I do, however, know something about Rathjen's long history of alleged misconduct, which includes chronic and widely known sexual harassment at the University of Adelaide during his earlier tenure there as a professor and department chair; a misconduct case at a major Australian university which found him guilty of sexual assault against a student; and, while Vice-Chancellor at the University of Tasmania, his alleged protection of the notorious pedophile Nicolaas Bester, who re-offended while a PhD student at UTAS.

Rathjen first came on my radar last year when I was reporting on the case of Alan Cooper, formerly chief of Adelaide's ancient DNA center, who has since been fired for misconduct. A number of women who had been at the university during Rathjen's earlier tenure there (1990-2006) approached me, concerned that Rathjen would be making the final decision about Cooper's fate. At that time, I was told by multiple sources, Rathjen had developed a well known reputation as a sexual harasser. The sources included individuals who had directly experienced this behavior.

The Alan Cooper case revealed that misconduct, including bullying and sexual harassment, had been tolerated at the University of Adelaide for many years. Thus, while complaints against Cooper were made to the university administration beginning in 2006, the first full year that he was in charge of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD), administrators ignored them until last year, when survivors of the abuse finally began to go public. Media coverage in the Australian press, along with major scientific journals such as Science and Nature, made it impossible for Adelaide officials to continue covering up for Cooper, despite the major prestige that ACAD had brought to the university.

(Cooper is currently appealing his firing, and a hearing on the matter is expected around July. University staff have been interviewing and re-interviewing many of the original complainants to get their case ready.)



Faye McCallum


Bullying and nepotism in the School of Education, abuse of staff at the Adelaide Dental School.

Soon after I began reporting on Alan Cooper, sources within the university began to approach me with allegations of misconduct in other schools and departments. The first such case concerned the head of the School of Education, Faye McCallum. Again, multiple sources testified to an atmosphere of bullying and harassment in the school; in August 2018, the National Tertiary Education Union NTEU), which represents employees in Australian higher education, was forced to write to Jennie Shaw, executive dean in the faculty of arts, because no action against the numerous complaints of bullying, overwork, abuse, and questionable staff appointments had been taken despite numerous complaints. Unfortunately, on May 15, Shaw announced that McCallum had been given a two-year extension of her appointment as head of the School of Education. That fight goes on.

Meanwhile, very similar complaints have arisen in the world-class Adelaide Dental School, which over the last few years has seen its autonomy eroded by the edicts of university administrators. Earlier this year, NTEU conducted a confidential survey which included questions about health and safety, bullying, and confidence in senior school and faculty management. About 80% of staff gave negative responses, according to an April 6, 2020 letter from Cheryl Baldwin--division industrial organizer for the NTEU's South Australia division--to Benjamin Kile, executive dean of Adelaide's Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. I have considerable documentation of the alleged abuses and will be reporting on them in more detail soon.




Grace Tame


Peter Rathjen: Sexual assault, protecting a pedophile, ---?

As I mentioned above, during Rathjen's tenure at a major Australian university, he was found guilty of sexual assault against a student. As this is a very sensitive matter, kept strictly secret, I am not identifying the university in question to protect sources. I hope to be able to say more soon, but there is no doubt about the truth of the matter. Australian academic culture, like the academic culture of most countries, is rife with retaliation and threats of retaliation. The level of fear about speaking out is quite high, especially as Australian science is still largely ruled by an old boys' club in which women (and many men) are the subject of constant intimidation.

This brings us to the case of Nicolaas Bester, one of Australia's most notorious pedophiles. Bester was convicted of grooming and sexually assaulted a 15 year old girl, Grace Tame, while a teacher at St. Michael's Collegiate School in Hobart, Tasmania. In 2011, Bester was sentenced to two years and ten months in jail for his crimes. But due to archaic Tasmanian laws (also enforced in Australia's Northern Territory) that purport to protect victims but actually mask the identity of abusers, Tame had to wait nine years before she could speak out about what happened to her. With the help of journalist and anti-sexual assault advocate Nina Funnell, Tame scored a historic win in the Supreme Court of Tasmania, winning the right to identify herself and name her abuser.

(Funnell wrote a number of articles about the Bester case, including one in which Bester claimed to have been the real victim.)

Bester later entered a graduate program in chemistry at the University of Tasmania (UTAS.). And in 2016, while a PhD student there, Bester was sentenced again to four months in jail for remarks he made on social media about his abuse of Grace Tame, including calling his abuse of her "awesome" and "enviable." A judge ruled that this behavior amounted to the production of child exploitation material online, which seems a reasonable decision at the very least.

Enter Peter Rathjen again. After Bester served his new jail sentence, he returned to the University of Tasmania campus, where Rathjen was Vice-Chancellor, to continue his PhD work, unimpeded by any action from the university administration. That failure to protect students led, in spring of 2017, to a petition campaign calling upon the university to ban him. The campaign was led by the UTAS Women's Collective, and ultimately gathered more than 1600 signatures. "Myself and many others are incredibly disappointed with the University of Tasmania for not removing Nicolaas Bester from campus," said Heidi La Paglia, a member of the collective who started the petition.

The university refused to take any action. According to my sources, Rathjen was instrumental in the decision to allow Bester to finish his graduate work. But both he and Bester had their supporters. Chief among them was the well known Australian barrister Greg Barns, an advocate for prison reform and staunch defender of Julian Assange. In a Twitter exchange with me after he saw my social media posts on Rathjen and the Bester case--in which he accused me of engaging in a "sleazy trial by media campaign"--Barns praised the former UTAS Vice-Chancellor, saying that "Rathjen behaved impeccably and in accordance with the rule of law and fairness."

To sum up simply: It appears that Peter Rathjen has been involved in sexual misconduct, both as an abuser and an enabler, for most of his career. There may be some irony in the fact that his career will probably end in Adelaide, where his reputation as a serial sexual predator first began.

There will be more to say about this soon, and I will post updates here.


Update July 20, 2020: Rathjen resigns.

Peter Rathjen has resigned, supposedly due to "ill health," while still under investigation for serious misconduct. I won't comment on his health issues, other than to say that his abuse of women, over  his entire career, caused ill mental health to many.

Here is Chancellor Catherine Branson's announcement to the university community. Some readers of this blog might have comments on how well Mike Brooks,  who has been serving as acting Vice-Chancellor in Rathjen's absence, has upheld the university's purported principles of fair treatment of students and staff over his years as an administrator at the university.


Resignation of Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Rathjen AO Dear Colleagues I am writing to inform you that the University’s Council has accepted the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Rathjen AO, due to ill health. The University extends its appreciation for the contribution Professor Rathjen has made since taking up the role in 2018. Professor Mike Brooks has been Acting Vice-Chancellor since Professor Rathjen was granted leave of absence in early May 2020, and I am grateful to Professor Brooks for the seamless continuity of leadership he is providing to our University community. The University will make an announcement about the search for a new Vice-Chancellor in due course. In the meantime, our focus will remain on the continued delivery of high-quality teaching, learning and research, supporting the State’s social and economic needs, and responding to the challenges faced by our community from the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. Kind regards Cathy -- The Hon. Catherine Branson AC QC Chancellor Office of the Chancellor and Council Secretariat The University of Adelaide, AUSTRALIA 5005 Ph: +61 8313 5668 Fax: +61 8313 4407 Email: chancellor@adelaide.edu.au





















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234 Comments

Anonymous said…
Yes there's more to come. What ICAC issued was a "statement". Full report likely. There's also the Integrity Survey due and, withe the China issue in full swing, U of Adelaide's relationship with the Confucius Institute and staff involved with CCP talent programs will be under the microscope. Hoj better be off the table.
Anonymous said…
Branson was power hungry. These comments in the ICAC statement questions her credibility.

"The Deputy Chancellor [Branson] also advised him that she wished to become Chancellor.

The Chancellor [Scarce] was given a fait accompli. If he did not resign he would be stood down. That would have been extraordinarily embarrassing for him."

Branson should resign. If Rathjen's payout is true, Mike Brooks should go immediately. He has handled many cases very poorly - see other comments in this blog. There should be a major shake up in the council. SHAME ON THE CURRENT LEADERS for failing the staff and students.
Anonymous said…
In the Chancellor's email to all staff on 26 August 2020, she criticized Rathjen heavily. But does she take any responsibility for being in the hiring committee or institutional failure that has seen the victims of bullying and harassment being gaslighted? She was the Chair of the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee before becoming the Deputy Chancellor and then Chancellor. The legal procedure that she would have set up has failed many staff who complained against bullying. The university should be forced to publicize the data on bullying complaints and their outcomes (how many went in favor of complainants - isn't it close to zero??). The university should be investigated for not even formally recording bullying complaints. They have a fancy bullying management system but complaints do not get registered! Rathjen was guilty of that too. Those who have misused their power or subjected staff to poor treatment should be punished. Pathological liars should be prosecuted.
Anonymous said…
Branson's email to all staff on 26 August 2020:

[Alluniversity] Update from the Chancellor – ICAC findings

Dear Colleagues,

The Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) has today made a public statement relating to allegations of improper conduct by the University’s former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Rathjen AO, and the University’s handling of those allegations.

The Commissioner has found that the former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rathjen, was guilty of serious misconduct for the purposes of the ICAC Act. No finding of misconduct or maladministration was made by the Commissioner against any other person.

It is important for you to know that the University has fully cooperated with all aspects of the ICAC inquiry, which began when the former Chancellor, Rear Admiral the Hon. Kevin Scarce AC CSC, reported the matter directly to the Commissioner.

The University of Adelaide is pleased that the Commissioner’s statement has been released as it allows us to address the understandable concern from our community about the nature of the issues under investigation and to properly inform our own staff and the broader University community.

The conduct of the former Vice-Chancellor as outlined by the Commissioner is unacceptable and does not represent our values or expectations of behaviour at the University from any staff member, especially our most senior leader.

This behaviour shouldn’t be tolerated, whether in a University, another workplace, or any part of our community.

I am particularly distressed by and apologise for the impact that the former Vice-Chancellor’s behaviour has had on others. I acknowledge that it has reflected badly on the University.

The University regrets the initial handling of this incident, which followed external legal advice given to the University. While Professor Rathjen’s actions were his own, we acknowledge that the way in which the matter was initially dealt with by the University was not appropriate.

The University accepts and will adopt all of the recommendations made by ICAC to improve our processes. We are already applying what we have learned to ensure that the University becomes a stronger, safer and more respectful place to work and study.

I am committed to maintaining and strengthening a culture and environment which allows students and staff to thrive, an environment in which individuals feel respected, safe, valued and welcome – that is our obligation as education providers and as an employer.

The University Council has already resolved to commission an appropriately qualified and experienced person to conduct an independent review of our processes and our checks and balances, in relation to the accountability of our most senior leadership.

Our new Staff Values and Behaviour Framework has recently been embraced by a large senior leadership group and will be shared with all of our staff and titleholders. This framework helps to reinforce the values of our University and to ensure that those values are reflected in the behaviour of our staff.

As Chancellor, I’m confident we will become a better institution from this experience. I firmly believe that our values and culture must be led from the very top. I am committed to ensuring this happens.

Yours sincerely,


The Hon. Catherine Branson AC QC
Chancellor




--
The Hon.Catherine Branson AC QC
Chancellor
Office of the Chancellor and Council Secretariat
The University of Adelaide
Ph: +61 8313 5668
Fax: +61 8313 4407
Email: chancellor@adelaide.edu.au
Anonymous said…
Chancellor Catherine Branson wrote, "The University Council has already resolved to commission an appropriately qualified and experienced person to conduct an independent review of our processes and our checks and balances, in relation to the accountability of our most senior leadership."

THE STAFF KNOW YOUR OLD TRICKS. DO NOT TRY TO DECEIVE THEM AGAIN.

The university has used external organizations for culture check in the past but then made decisions that suited management anyway. The only exception is Alan Cooper's case because Nature conducted its own investigation and started publishing the data - thanks to Balter for breaking the news. The management can have all the independent data and still make a final decision that they have decided prior to the investigation. Regardless of all the serious bullying complaints made, they got away by saying, "There is no bullying problem". Investigations were made by Executive Dean, Deputy VCs ... all the way to VC (Rathjen and Brooks). They gaslighted the victims anyway.

How do you know the university will not do the same thing with "an independent review of our processes and our checks and balances"? Their track record does not instill any confidence in staff. It will just be waste of time and money. They waste money on futile exercises and keep cutting teaching budget so they can waste more money on other exercises.

How can you trust the same administrators who have failed staff time and again?

Is the university going to apologize to the bullied victims?? Many have retired, resigned or taken early package, and the problems went away for the management.

Do not get fooled by empty talks and hollow lies from higher management. Do not believe them until you see it in action.

Things will only change if there is serious punishment for administrators for failing the staff or the system. Punish HR for failing to record complaints, and to executive deans and higher up for failing to take actions on deans who are bullies.

The whole systems needs clean up.

Rathjen would have thought he was invincible. He failed to notice two things: the effectiveness of Balter's journalism and ICAC investigation. Those things changed the tide. Others who have behaved like Rathjen and have protected bullies should be concerned because you are not invincible. Otherwise you will be held accountable for the bullies' actions. Please do the right thing by people.

You cannot teach academic integrity to students if you are a pathological liar and a political animal. The current management has too many of those. You punish students for cheating in exams or plagiarizing in their assignments, yet you cheat and lie all the time. You are not being fair. Rathjen was not being fair.
Anonymous said…
Precisely. Had a contact yesterday from a colleague in tears. 3 years of bullying by an oafish and opinionated male. Nothing has happened- the union says keep a log and of course this absolves them from doing SFA. Shaw and MacCallum do nothing. Zilch, Nothing. Staff are all fearful and are terrified to do anything. Not only does this bully target female staff but now students especially overseas one. What does it take before the University actually does anything. Perhaps the university should read the recent judgement of J. Elkaim of August 7 and see what not doing anything cost one ANU affiliated institution. Then perhaps they may act. Should not be too hard given Shaw is a lawyer and other staff have legal family connections.
Anonymous said…
My sis in law was a post grad student in the 1990/2000’s at Uni of Adel, and it was widely known then, that you did go and see Rathjen with someone with you....
Anonymous said…
There are many cases like that. I have seen numerous colleagues bursting into tears. Mental health problem is poor among many staff. Some has just left the university and have found themselves in a serene environment. They do not want to be ever bothered about the university. All these cases should be documented. The union could help (with the limited power that it has). Let all union delegates share stories together. Things will get worse before they get better. Be brave.

These are some quotes from past US Presidents (they have gone through more than we have):

John Adams: "If conscience disapproves, the loudest applauses of the world are of little value."

George Washington: “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” ...
“It is better to be alone than in bad company.” ...
“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” ...

Franklin D Roosevelt: "Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously."

DO NOT TOLERATE BULLYING AT UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE. REPORT IT TO ICAC AS A STARTER. IT IS MANDATORY REQUIREMENT. YOU CAN REPORT ANONYMOUSLY.

IF ANYONE RETALIATES, LET MICHAEL KNOW. LET US KNOW IN THIS BLOG. WE WILL PROTECT OUR RIGHTS FOR BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS.
Anonymous said…
This blog deserves great credit for pursuing these issues. The ICAC announcement makes clear that Adelaide were willing to bury the sexual assault allegations. And now we get the smug "We did nothing wrong" from the new Chancellor. More shame heaped on inglory. The new Chancellor colludes with the sexual assaulter to stab the old Chancellor in the back to claim the post. The committee that appointed a lying sexual predator recieve promotions to higher positions as rewards for their cowardly silence. If they had any morality at all the entire senior management would apologise publicly for their role in this sordid affair, and stand aside to allow a fresh and unsullied leadership to emerge - if that is possible in such a tainted institution.
Anonymous said…
Sexual impropriety aside, lying to the ICAC is probably a serious criminal offence. I wonder if Lander has sent his brief off to the DPP ? Now Lander handled his inquiry under the Ombudsman Act, not the ICAC act. This was presumably to allow the inquiry to be in private which allowed the identities of the complainants to be kept confidential which was a good thing and according to their wishes. Lander did not have good things to say about the current Chancellor and her position must be in doubt. Staff just do not have confidence in the senior leadership of the University and the Council to appoint a new VC. The composition of these senior management appointment panels is totally inappropriate. No Executive Deans, Heads of Schools nor Senior Professors. No staff or student reps. Unrepresentative of the University community. God help us if they appoint a guy that is tight with the PRC government and trashed the reputation of UQ.

We saw in the recent EAV process that lines of communication were deliberately and tightly controlled by management to push their preferred outcome. Management convened "staff forums" where questions had to be submitted in advance, and management moderated FAQ pages. Some staff reported having emails censored by management to avoid discussion. Twenty years ago, staff elected their Head of School. Now the Heads of School are rubber stamps for the higher management - look at their job descriptions, there is no doubt.
Anonymous said…
The Gropes of Rath...jen
Scarce is a man of integrity and no poncie private school education for him - just Salisbury High School!
I’ll share a story with you as several here have made comment on the Rathjen siblings. Many years ago when I worked at the Waite Institute at UoA the patriarch of the Rathjen clan John was a senior lecturer in plant science based there, John jnr. (Now at CSIRO) was a PhD student in Bob Symons lab. and Peter was in the biochemistry department. The story I heard was that the Rathjen clan used to get together for Sunday dinner once a month at Dad’s house. Apparently PJ eventually became so obnoxious that they stopped inviting him. So obviously the seeds of a toxic personality were sown early in his career.
Anonymous said…
Anonymous from August 27, 2020 at 12:18 AM rightly points out that the committee that will appoint a new VC is "unrepresentative of the University community". Even if they included broader staff members, there is no guarantee that they will not choose them from own circle. This is the university culture with appointments of new staff anyway. Even deans handpick the selection committee and keep the "school management committee" in the dark. They often appoint people against the advice of senior management committee.

I would not be surprised if the VC selection committee has already made up their mind. The ICAC statement makes this hard and clear, "The Chancellor [Scarce] was given a fait accompli..." [by the then Deputy Chancellor, Branson].

A potential candidate could have already been given "fait accompli". The press suggested it was someone from Queensland who was coming back to Adelaide.

As the Anonymous from August 26, 2020 at 11:47 PM says, the whole leadership team should be ashamed and resign. Students have no respect for you. Students and recent graduates are now demanding that Rathjen's signature be replaced with someone credible on their parchments. This might happen with Branson too. The student body knows about the contents of this blog well now.
Anonymous said…
That, my friend, is a t-shirt if there ever was one!!
Anonymous said…
A massive thanks to Michael Balter. The content on this blog was given great credibility by Landers, and that information allowed the questions to be framed such that Rathjen hung himself. The number of bare-faced lies even after being caught out. Branson has condemned herself. A payout with full knowledge of the allegations made here and at U Melb. Scarce is exonerated and acted in full probity and in the best interests and requests of the victims. He should be brought back to oversee the removal ofvthe rot - a job I'm sure he would undertake with gusto! Forget any idea of Hoj for VC. China taint and both UQ and Adelaide Conficius agreement slated for investigation.
Anonymous said…
I agree, Without this blog and Balter’s amazing work the ICAC investigation may not have happened.
Now I hope that we can have some positive culture change at UofA. I think there is more change needed at the top before students and staff will trust again. Very upsetting. Thank you Mr Balter for your amazing work and dedication. There are so many more stories to tell....
Anonymous said…
Please donate to Freedom of the Press Defense Fund Kurin v. Balter

https://au.gofundme.com/f/freedom-of-the-press-defense-fund-kurin-v-balter

$8,517 raised of $20,000 target

Balter has been doing great work for Adelaide and other universities for free. Now he needs our support to cover some legal fees to retain integrity in academia.
Anonymous said…
Something to contemplate as we all eagerly await the ICAC report on the staff survey of the 3 SA universities.

Who initiated the survey and why?, and who set the terms of reference?

Is there a reason that it is coming right at the tail end of the tenure of the current Commissioner Bruce Lander?

Is it also by chance that it comes precisely at a time when 'influencers', politicians and lobbyists are pushing for a university merger?

Rathjen clearly deserves every iota of public humiliation he has received from the Commission, and hopefully his victims feel vindicated.

But, let's all apply some critical thinking to whatever revelations come next. Who (if anyone) comes out of the survey fatally wounded, and who (if anyone) comes out of it pure and virtuous and able to save us all?

It is almost illegal to think about the operations of ICAC, let alone discuss its current investigations - and that is all the more reason to monitor the fairness and independence of its actions.
Anonymous said…
I was an undergrad at Uni of Adelaide 97-99, and grad student after that. Not in Biochemistry where he was, but a related department. Can only second what so many others have said. EVERYONE, students and staff knew he was inappropriate with undergrads / grad students. His behavior on pub crawls was particularly infamous.
Anonymous said…
Even people in unrelated departments knew he was a shady character back in the 90's. Only the hiring committee did not know or chose to turn a blind eye. Scarce has acted in integrity but his mistake was to have chaired the infamous hiring committee. Others are worse.
Anonymous said…
It is a safe bet that the ICAC Integrity Survey was iniated by a flood of complaints to ICAC, possibly in the same manner as the previous survey of SA Govt departments.
https://icac.sa.gov.au/report/public-integrity-survey-2018 and https://icac.sa.gov.au/report/in-their-own-words

Anonymous said…
A new coverage and more comments here. [Better to move the discussion there]

The truth at last, or at least some of it, about Peter Rathjen, the U of Adelaide, the U of Melbourne, the U of Tasmania, etc. [Updated August 28, 2020]

http://michael-balter.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-truth-at-last-or-at-least-some-of.html

Please donate to Freedom of the Press Defense Fund Kurin v. Balter

https://au.gofundme.com/f/freedom-of-the-press-defense-fund-kurin-v-balter

Without Michael's relenting efforts, Alan Cooper and Peter Rathjen would still be misusing their power. Now he needs your support to held people accountable to their actions. We need him to keep integrity in academia.
Michael Balter said…
Yes if at all possible please move the discussion to the blog post linked to above. It also has an important update. Blogger will not let me make any changes to the text of this blog post, they are changing formats, so I can’t announce it at the top of the post. Thanks for the plug for the GoFundMe!
Anonymous said…
The intense concentration of power among current senior managers of the UofA had its origins in the 1990s. The old Academic Committee had become too large and unwieldy, so the (then few) senior managers arranged for an Executive Committee of the Academic Committee. This proved just as unwieldy as its title and was short-lived, being replaced by the formation of the mega-faculties with their Executive Deans. This was the ‘way to go’, and the Faculty cluster of Health Sciences, Science and Engineering dominated the work of the senior administration. Some of the scraps from this process were assembled into the Faculty of PALACE. (No, this is not a Tolkienesque fiction! It was the official acronym for the former departments of Performing Arts, Law, Architecture, Commerce and Economics). I was a ‘courtier’ of moderate academic rank inside the PALACE at the time and saw at first hand how the fledgling Executive Deans wondered at their newly found power over resources and people. Their talents varied from stumbling in the chair at meetings to hazard reduction burning, i.e. pressuring staff to take redundancy packages. I was one of the latter, being discharged from the ‘burns unit’ in 2000.
I was particularly interested in the comment 'Lander did not have good things to say about the current Chancellor and her position must be in doubt. Staff just do not have confidence in the senior leadership of the University and the Council to appoint a new VC. The composition of these senior management appointment panels is totally inappropriate. No Executive Deans, Heads of Schools nor Senior Professors.'
If accurate, this indication of further power-shifting AWAY from Executive Deans and Heads of Schools to senior leaders such as VC, Pro-VCs, Convening Committees and the like, reflects the additional concentration of remote decision-making in the 20 years since I left. It’s now easier than ever to declare ‘confidential’ to hide behind the cloak of secrecy.
Despite my long absence from the University, I still received the Chancellor’s letter referred to in several posts above. As is typical, when referring to the lamentable Peter Rathjen, Ms. Branson relies on SIRs (Standardised Institutional Responses) by declaring '…is unacceptable and does not represent our values…', '…behaviour shouldn’t be tolerated…' and so on. However, the blame-shifting continues: 'The University regrets the initial handling of this incident, which followed external legal advice given to the University.' This easily translates as: It wasn’t our fault; those damn lawyers gave us a bum steer.
The departure of Rathjen is a good first step, but it shouldn’t also double as the last.
Anonymous said…
All the anonymous commenters; how anonymous are you? be careful!

Have no doubts that if you are using a University issued laptop, logged into Uni email, or logging into a University Wi-Fi that they may be following your activities online and collating log-on times with comments. I'm stating the obvious here, but Universities and their management cannot be trusted, they have excellent IT resources and bucketloads of taxpayers cash to throw at using any means (including criminal means) to protect their "reputation".

At the very least get yourself a good non-logging VPN like Mullvad ($7 month no contract) and a free Protonmail or Tutanota email account with a strong password. Drop Google Chrome and use 'Duck Duck Go' through Firefox as a search engine for any searches that could link you to snooping!

You can go further and use the Tor browser for anonymity (without the need for a VPN). It restricts/hinders access to some sites but allows you to access Protonmail and Tutanota email and also to publish anonymous and free blogs on Wordpress.com to get your story out there if you have one to tell.

I applaud Michael for hosting and updating this blog but can not understand how the Universities haven't yet managed to take it down. Monash University (another Go8) was quick to take down blogs by Professor Qizhi Chen who was sacked after she made allegations of sexual harassment, corruption and cover ups. Monash literally spent millions fighting that one.

Good to see the blog is regularly being saved to Wayback as a precaution.
Michael Balter said…
Re the last comment: I am not an expert in the technology discussed, of course, but I agree that universities often do try to monitor what their faculty, staff, and students are doing and saying, especially to reporters. Something needs to be done about that more globally, given how completely counter to the academic spirit such surveillance is.

In the US, at least, it is next to impossible to take down a blog or engage in any kind of prior restraint of freedom of expression. We do not have the kind of draconian defamation laws that Australia is suffering under, fortunately.

And ironically, the Litigation Hold Order in the Kurin v. Balter $10 million defamation suit against me forbids any deletion of material on this blog, so no one can take it down as that has the force of a court order!

Finally, please take this discussion over to the latest blog post about Rathjen, where much of it is continuing unabated.
Anonymous said…
Peter Rathjen went to Blackwood High School, a public school in the Adelaide Hills.
Anonymous said…
Yes. But. Notice how the only two people who have paid the price of having to resign here (Rathjen and Scarce) attended state schools. I don't know where members of 'the Rump' were schooled. Anybody know?
Anonymous said…
That is why the School of Education has made it a priority to recruit directly from St Peters and the Catholic private sector. You just get a much better class of staff member and cut out the possibility of recruiting Kath and Kim and Mel types and other deplorables. Just more class all round.
Anonymous said…
I personally do not see the point here or am I missing something.
1. Why does the uni management need someone, a third party to look into this matter? Is the uni management useless f**k heads.
2. Why ICAC not taking any action against the management who could not do their own job? In that case I am totally eligible for VC role.
3. Why is everyone not giving out the names of the culprits? you are anonymous on the blog or use a home laptop or use you phone. (It’s smarter than you are that’s why we call it hem smart phones). Please write down you experience and the name dickheads (don’t Think of me as sexist but both male and female bosses can be cause of problems at work place). At least you will be helping others.
4. How come no body from other departments speaking out??? Come on people.
5. The whole idea of open discussion is not just to blame the culprit whose crime are out there, but to encourage people to talk and learn from others experience.
Anonymous said…
More on Rathjen's UTAS travel expenses, with coverup enabled and orchestrated by him and Chancellor Michael Field, former Premier of Tasmania: https://www.examiner.com.au/story/3771352/rathjens-travel-bill-fine/
Anonymous said…
Please move your comments here. There are already 100+ comments posted in there.

https://michael-balter.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-truth-at-last-or-at-least-some-of.html
Anonymous said…
A reply to the following post from July 2020..

Anonymous said…
"University councils have no role in operations, so they only know what they're told by the VC. Elected academic and student representatives have long been disenfranchised by corporatisation and rumour of any wrongdoing is all they can go by unless someone comes forward officialy. Those "electeds" would normally feel vulnerable in our now fully corporatised system. It takes someone like a Drew Pavlou (most courageous young person in Australia IMHO) at U. Queensland, willing to risk everything, to bring serious issues and behaviour to light. The level of institutional harassment Pavlou has experienced is worthy of a "Balter-esque" investigation - student raises issue of UQ allowing and complying with foreign government influence, VC getting $ reward from said foreign government, foreign diplomat made Adjunct Prof, diplomat inciting violence against student, said diplomat being investigated by Queensland police for same, law suits both ways.....stay tuned."


And now said former UQ VC at the centre of the above controversy has now been appointed as the new Vice Chancellor at U Adelaide - despite one of the "deepest background checks ever competed for an in-coming VC" - Chancellor Catherine Branson. HOW CAN THAT BE SO Chancellor Branson? U Adelaide just simply cannot steer itself away from controversy, or, seriously tainted so-called leaders.
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