Join the Robert Menzies Institute as we host Professor Michael Wesley for Becoming the ‘Mind of the Nation’: How Robert Menzies hoped to place Australian universities at the centre of our national life on Thursday 07 September 2023 4:30pm – 6:00pm (formalities commence at 5:00pm).

Following Professor Wesley’s presentation, there will be a panel discussion featuring John Roskam.

About this Event

When Robert Menzies came to power in 1949, education policy was still largely considered to be a matter for the States. As State budgets faced massive challenges stemming from lost taxation powers and a rapidly expanding population, it soon became clear that the federal government would need to step in if it was to salvage what were then just handful of University institutions – generally amounting to one per State. In the event, Menzies went far beyond this, not only alleviating the immediate crisis but greatly expanding Australia’s tertiary education system which he felt was vital to the success of our democracy.

In this talk Michael Wesley, author of Mind of the Nation: Universities in Australian Life, will discuss Menzies’s vision for Australia’s universities, and explore whether they are living up to the vital role he envisaged for them.

Professor Michael Wesley

Professor Michael Wesley is Deputy Vice-Chancellor Global, Culture and Engagement at the University of Melbourne.

Professor Wesley has extensive experience in international strategy and relations and has worked in higher education, government and the private sector. He has published on Australian foreign policy, Asia’s international relations and strategic affairs, and the politics of state-building interventions.

Previously, Professor Wesley was Professor of International Affairs and Dean of the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University and the Director of the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at ANU. He has also held positions as the Executive Director of the Lowy Institute for International Policy, Director of the Griffith Asia Institute at Griffith University, and Assistant Director-General for Transnational Issues at the Office of National Assessments. He has a PhD in International Relations from the University of St Andrews.

John Roskam

John Roskam is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Australian Way of Life at the Institute of Public Affairs. He served as Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs from 2005 to 2022. Before joining the IPA he taught political theory at the University of Melbourne. He was previously the Executive Director of The Menzies Research Centre in Canberra, has been a senior adviser and chief of staff to federal and state education ministers, and was the manager of government and corporate affairs for a global mining company.

His publications include Australia’s Education Choices (with Professor Brian Caldwell), ‘Terrorism and Poverty’ in Blaming Ourselves, ‘Liberalism and Social Welfare’ in Liberalism and the Australian Federation, and ‘The Liberal Party and the Great Split’ in The Split Fifty Years Later.

His fortnightly column appears in The Australian Financial Review. He is a member of the Editorial Board of The Australian Journal of Public Administration, and Connor Court Publishing, and the Advisory Board of The Centre for Advanced Journalism at the University of Melbourne. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration, Australia in Victoria, and is an Honorary Fellow of Campion College.

Please note that by signing up for this event you are consenting to your information being uploaded to our mailing list.