Making and Breaking Universities

Memoirs of academic life in Australia and Britain 1936-2004. Bruce Williams became vice-chancellor of the University of Sydney in 1967, a time that coincided with the rise of student radicalism and protests against the Vietnam War. His tenure was punctuated by student demonstrations and occupations of university offices, including his own. At the end of his career with the university in 2001, he witnessed another radical group successfully manoeuvre to depose the Chancellor, Leonie Kramer. As well as a revealing insight into university politics and governance, this book recounts the authors experience as an advisor to governments in both Australia and Britain on both economic and educational policy and technological change. It examines the implications of globalisation and economic reform on academic values and asks whether the traditional university can survive.