Are University Administrations Being Forced to Short-change Maths? (February 20, 2008)

National Committee for Mathematical Sciences chairman and University of Melbourne professor Hyam Rubinstein has told The Australian's Guy Healy he estimates about $25 million nationally had been allocated to universities to support the recruitment of new staff and teaching students in maths and statistics: "But we are only getting 20per cent or less, or about $4 million to $5 million actually flowing to departments nationally. [What's happening is] universities have to make money. This issue of national priorities has become secondary to what will pay the bills. That's the difficulty."

Australian Mathematical Society president and Melbourne University professor Peter Hall put it to Mr Healy: "I understand that some universities need the freedom to put these funds where they are haemorrhaging most seriously, but it's clear they don't see offering maths as playing a serious role in science."

In professor Hall's view having a sufficient supply of maths-qualified researchers was of increasing importance in multinationals' decisions in locating significant research facilities.

Overall universities contacted by Mr Healy were less than forthcoming regarding the comments of Professors Rubinstein and Hall and one anonymous source told him: "that when a senior university administrator was confronted with the failure to pass on extra funding, he said the federal education department wouldn't be concerned and that the minister wouldn't get involved in such detail," which seems to gain conformation when, "A spokeswoman for Education Minister Julia Gillard said universities had discretion over the funds".

And so they should, but it does raise the question as to the degree of intellectual corruption that the previous Coalition government of John Howard has engendered in university administrations.