Posted on 03 Mar 2006
The ACUADS Executive Meeting held at the University of South Australia, Adelaide on 3 March 2006 considered the following items:
Welcome by the Chair & Report
The Chair, Su Baker, welcomed Executive members and Guests and reported that the Conference Planning Committee had met 13 February, and Professor Bernard Hoffert advised that the Dean, John Redman, had offered the services of an administrator to run the Melbourne Conference. The Chair noted that the ACUADS web site had been amended and added to as per the 12 December Executive Committee Minutes and that the ACUADS Email Address Book now consists of approximately 400 names divided into five lists: Executive, Heads of School, University Staff, Peak Groups and Organisations and that each would now be uploaded to the Confidential Section for Executive members’ use.
Executive Membership
Professor de Clario advised the meeting that he would be leaving Edith Cowan in May, having been appointed to Monash University. The Meeting therefore agreed that to maintain state representation in the interim, Associate Professor Clive Barstow of Edith Cowan be co-opted until the AGM in September.
Professor David Williams advised the meeting that he would be resigning as Head, ANU School of Art in July and taking up a position as Senior Fellow, but was invited to maintain his position as ACUADS Treasurer until the AGM in September.
In light of these changes, the meeting therefore agreed that no further changes be made to the Executive Committee at this time.
Proposed Application: Art/Museum Collections to Deans of Arts Social Sciences and Humanities (DASSH) Group
Professor David Williams reported that he and the Chair had held discussions with Mr. Toss Gascoigne of the Council for the Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences (CHASS) and agreed that an application for a grant would best be directed to the Australian Vice Chancellors’ Committee (AVCC) and not to DASSH given the larger scope of the project.
Proposed ACUADS Policies
The meeting considered the paper and, subject to proposed changes, approved its inclusion on the ACUADS web site.
Visual Art & Design Metrics – Research Quality Framework
The Chair reported that on 9 February, she had attended a Scoping Workshop on Developing the RQF Guidelines at which all major Peak Groups were represented. She noted that the attached two working papers, presented for discussion, were the outcome of this meeting.
The meeting discussed the papers and also the possibility of using the UK system as a basis and refining that rather than starting from scratch. It was agreed that members would download the UK paper and use this to assist them in fleshing out the two Work Sheet papers.
The meeting also discussed making the RQF Metrics a subject of one of the parrallel sessions at the Conference, but agreed that the various Peak Groups may need to be consulted earlier than September. The meeting agreed to wait on the DEST one-day event.
Annual Conference: Melbourne 2006
The meeting discussed the Draft Program, noting that an administrator would be provided by Monash to run the conference and also noting that Professor de Clario, who organised the recent Perth conference, would now be on the Monash staff.
Following further discussion, the meeting agreed on the Conference dates proposed and that: the Preliminary Day (Tuesday) be optional for ACUADS members; a Roundtable session of Educators be held; a Heads of Schools Dinner be held on Day 1 (Wednesday); the Non-University staff and the Administrators be asked to propose their own program to run parallel to the conference. The meeting noted that a further Conference Planning Meeting was to be held on 30 March.
National Review of Visual Education
The Chair tabled a flyer from Art Education Australia and advised the meeting that they had advised it was critical that a numerically strong response to the National Review of Visual Education be achieved and asked members to consider making a submission.
Treasurer’s Report
Professor David Williams tabled his Report and spoke to the contents. The meeting agreed that the Annual Subscription fees for 2006 are: * Schools with less than 250 EFTSU: $660 ($630 – 2005) * Schools with more than 250 but less than 1000 EFTSU: $935 ($892 – 2005) * Schools with more than 1000 EFTSU: $1,100 ($1050 – 2005)
The meeting ratified the expenditure on Travel, Web Administrator and Executive Officer Salary, Travel and Expenses since the last meeting.
Expanding Horizons Project
The meeting discussed this CHASS project to be held 28-29 March and agreed to pay $2,000 for the Silver level of sponsorship. The meeting then discussed representation at the event and Professor Frankham nominated Mr. Martin Walch and Professor Lawrence nominated Mr. Andrew Best. Following further discussion it was agreed to invite the two nominees and that their proposers would contact them to brief them on the project. It was further agreed that they would be accompanied by Professor David Williams.
Sponsorship for ACUADS Web
The Executive Committee approved the Chair’s proposal to raise sponsorship for the Web, noting that this would necessitate some form of acknowledgement in the form of company name and logo.
Creative Arts Roundtable, 2 March 2006
Professor Williams reported that he and the Chair attended the second meeting of this Peak Group organised by CHASS.
Professor Williams advised that the Australia Council’s Creative Arts Strategy had been discussed but that the main item had been the formulation of a Cultural Policy. Professor David Throsby had addressed the meeting and had outlined a four point framework and had asked for comments to be forwarded on this framework: * Creativity * Access and Participation * Status and Sustainability * Education and Research
Professor Williams advised the meeting that in the near future, CHASS (Council for the Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences) will need to be funded, possibly by levy, as is ACUADS, and that there had been discussion on which groups were part of their constituency and whether the Arts ‘Peak’ groups should be defined as all groups who receive grants. However it was noted that this would exclude education-based groups and the matter was unresolved.
Craft Australia
Ms. Catrina Vignando, General Manager of Craft Australia, addressed the meeting outlining the organisation’s role and spoke in particular on their Youth @ Craft Project. She advised that she hoped that members of ACUADS would endorse the project and noted that it was live from August to October, 2006.
Research: Art School Heads’ attitudes and trends in Australian Art Schools
Professor Noel Frankham tabled a summary of his research and spoke to the paper. The meeting agreed that the responses were interesting and as only a limited number of Art Schools had responded, it was suggested to Professor Frankham that additional questions could be added and the questionnaire re-sent.
PhD. Benchmark Project
Associate Professor Baker spoke of the need to have standardised benchmarks Australia-wide and noted that three overseas art schools had possible suitable models: School of the Arts, Institute of Chicago (SAIC); Rhodes Island School of Design (RISD); and the Californian Institute of the Arts (Calarts).
ACUADS Awards Nominations
The meeting noted that it was now time to promote the Awards by inviting nominations and asked that the Heads of School be contacted.