EQUITY@ANU
The students and staff of the Australian National University
come from a broad mix of cultural backgrounds, representing over
100 nationalities, many religions, and a variety of economic circumstances.
Across a wide demographic of the young and the not so young, the
university’s people showcase a diversity of educational
and life experiences, with an equally broad variety of family
and carer responsibilities.
To create an environment that will best help individuals in this
diverse community to fully realise their potential, the university
is committed to both an equality of educational opportunity for
our students and an equality of employment opportunity for our
staff. In practical terms this means ensuring that the university
maintains academic and administrative systems and processes that
are transparent, impartial and fair to all, and that it is sensitive
to issues of disadvantage that can act as a barrier to equal life
chances.
The university is proud of its tradition for fairness just as
much as it is proud of its reputation for intellectual rigour
and innovation. Philosophically, the commitment to equality of
opportunity is an expression of the abiding value the university
places upon meeting the needs of our people and nurturing the
talents of all our staff and students – one of the key values
underpinning the university’s belief that excellence comes
from putting people first.
However, just as the university must remain constantly vigilant
in ensuring it remains at the forefront of teaching and research
excellence, so too it must remain contemporary in its equal opportunity
administrative policies and administrative processes. To this
end, the university has specific initiatives and policy priorities
designed to address disadvantage and ensure we are abreast of
world’s best practice in areas of equal opportunity for
our people. Notable amongst these are the following:
- Strong progress in supporting an increasing number of people
with disabilities studying at ANU.
- Ongoing priority for Reconciliation and the advancement of
Indigenous Australians in education and employment – the
Jabal Indigenous Higher Education Centre and the Indigenous
employment strategy are two resources to assist us improve the
representation of Indigenous Australians on campus.
- International cooperation to increase the participation of
women. Along with our partners in the International Alliance
of Research Universities (IARU), the university is exploring
ways to increase the number of women in academic and leadership
roles in all academic fields. Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor
Mandy Thomas is leading a review of the University’s progress
and identifying strategies for systemic and structural changes
to increase the participation rate of women in academic employment.
To oversee the university’s ongoing commitment and to maintain
our momentum for improvement in all areas of equal opportunity,
the university recently established the University Community Equity
Committee to provide advice on equity matters.
The work of the
committee is everyone’s business and I encourage your participation
in our continuing effort to ensure that ANU is a community that
encourages each member to reach their full potential.
Professor Ian Chubb AC
Vice-Chancellor
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