ANU releases changes to Asia-Pacific school

ANU has released details of its changes to the School of Culture, History and Languages aimed at ensuring the long-term stability for the school and allowing the University to build on its excellence in Asia-Pacific humanities, social sciences and languages.

The changes follow extensive consultation with staff and students and takes into account substantive ideas from the 97 submissions received on the original proposal.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt said the University remains committed to teaching a wide range of Asia-Pacific languages and will continue to offer all languages currently being taught, including Hindi, Sanskrit, Thai, Vietnamese, Literary Chinese and Burmese.

"ANU isn't planning to follow the path of other universities who have abandoned teaching of many of these languages," Professor Schmidt said.

"We are working to keep all of our languages, and to find ways to grow them so that more students get the chance to study Asia-Pacific languages.

"The University is committed to continued excellence in Asia-Pacific research and teaching for decades to come. Getting the School on a healthy financial footing and operating within its budget, rather than in growing deficit, is part of ensuring that future."

Under the changes, a new name will be chosen for the School by staff and students and the academic departments will be reorganised into key areas including culture, histories, languages and environments.

The University expects the majority of academic staff in the School will be transferred to the new school.

"We will do everything possible to minimise job losses," Professor Schmidt said.

Fewer than 15 academic positions could be affected by the changes. The University will help affected staff find work in other parts of the University or transition to other arrangements, such as fixed-term pre-retirement or part-time contracts, to ensure redundancies are kept to a minimum.

Consultations with staff and students helped shape the final plan for the School.

"There was clear support to ensure a sustainable future for the School, while protecting and maintaining its international reputation as the world's finest school for Asia-Pacific studies," Professor Schmidt said.

"I'd like thank everyone who participated in the process, which has now set the School on a clear path to build on its excellence and success."

The full Change Implementation Plan is available at http://chl.anu.edu.au/about-us/2016-chl-review.