Michael J. Platow, BA (UCLA), MHigher Education (ANU), PhD (UCSB)
I am a professor in the Research School of Psychology, and have been at the ANU since 2003. My research examines the psychology of group processes: (1) leadership, fairness and trust, (2) prejudice and intergroup relations, and (3) group identities and learning. I was president of the Society of Australasian Social Psychologists, and an associate editor of Social Psychology and Personality Science. My teaching has been recognized by a Commonwealth Carrick Citation, while my contributions to research have been recognized through my election as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. I have sat on several College‐level education committees and a local promotions committee at the ANU.
Universities are institutions of scholarship and higher education, not businesses. Although fiscal responsibility is appropriate, universities should refocus their attention away from emulating business, and recognize the centrality of their role as enablers of a vibrant democracy. I will promote policies that enhance academics' abilities freely to think, speak, research and discover; that engage with students as learners and not customers; and that create a work environment characterized by respect, diversity, and the absence of bullying.
