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The University-Charity: Challenging Perceptions in Higher Education
Dr Mary Synge
Available here: www.universitycharity.co.ukhttp://www.universitycharity.co.uk/
Professor Matthew Harding, Dean of Melbourne Law School, calls this a ‘trailblazing’ and ‘hugely important’ book, and notes that ‘for those who care about universities, what they have been and what they might become, the book repays careful reading and re-reading’. ‘Reformers should find it difficult to ignore’ (John Picton, MLR).
Officially labelled as charities, why is it that universities are not talked about as such, and what does charity law have to say about the way they operate and their relations with the State? Despite a primary focus on English institutions, Australia’s shared heritage in charity law makes The University-Charity an important resource in addressing many of the same criticisms and challenges facing its own universities. Charity law should be part of strategic and operational decision-making in universities, and evident in accountability and regulation.
Please see www.universitycharity.co.ukhttp://www.universitycharity.co.uk/ for details of the book’s contents and reviews, together with a brief explanation of why the author turned down major publishers and self-published.
The Search for Truth by Maxwell R. Bennett AO.
The book first sketches the history of how Universities have evolved in their search for new knowledge and understanding and passing this onto succeeding generations. Detailed consideration is then given to whether the present administrative structures and levels of material support are such as to allow universities to maintain these roles into the future.
In the following brief essay, Wilfrid Prest reflects on the book, and the issues it raises with particular reference to the current condition of Australian universities.
For Wilfrid Prest’s review of Bennett’s The Search for Truth, which appeared in Minerva 29 December 2022, DOI 10.1007/s11024-022-09483-8, go to https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9797885/