ACUADS Newsletter

October 2008 – February 2009

The ACUADS Newsletter is an ad hoc publication from the Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools. It aims to communicate information about activities of the Council Executive, research interests and events and activities related to the visual art and design sector.

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1. ACUADS Chair's Report

Noel Frankham, Head, School of Art, University of Tasmania

Welcome to the ACUADS newsletter, my first as Chair. The newsletter relates the executive committee's discussions and decisions on a broad range of current matters facing the sectors and the organisation. Please give me feedback on any issues that interest you – either from within the newsletter or that you have come across more generally.

I write this in the midst of ERA preparation, which I'm sure occupies many of us across the nation. The ERA represents the first comprehensive recognition of research within the Creative Arts, exhibitions of an artist's work, curation of exhibitions and the catalogues published to accompany exhibitions will all be 'counted' properly as valid research outputs. Whilst esteem indicators ere excluded from the 2009 trial, they will be introduced for the full submission round in 2010, so hopefully there will be an opportunity for us to introduce elements of research productivity that are not so easily considered in the 'standard' measures of HERDC funding and citations so useful to other disciplines. The current ERA trial is a wonderful opportunity for us all to present the range of research activity that we undertake in the Creative Arts, and should be taken full advantage of by all of us as a learning experience. I'm hoping that there'll be time at the national conference in Brisbane for some reflective analysis of the trial submission process so that we can share and benefit from each other's experiences.

As you'll see from the notes from our recent ACUADS executive meetings progress on the 2009 conference at QCA in Brisbane (30 September – 2 October) is continuing apace. I encourage everyone to take a keen interest in the conference and attend if you can. There have been many papers proposed, so the program will be rich. Moreover the traditional 'roundtable' discussions on 30 September will be relevant and exciting for teachers and researchers within art and design. There's a link to the conference web site at www.acuads.com.au. I look forward to seeing strong membership support for the Queensland organising committee's efforts.

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2. ACUADS Executive Meeting 2 October 2008

Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) Update
Associate Professor Su Baker reported on her attendance at the Indicator Development Group meeting on September 12 and advised that the major item discussed was peer review and metrics.  The meeting agreed that it was necessary to identify the methodologies and noted that peer review has a long and proven track record as it has been in use at the Australia Council, State Arts Ministries and in many other industry contexts.

Liz Visher, Director, Outreach Research Excellence Branch, ARC, subsequently met with the Executive for an informal discussion.

ACUADS Constitution Changes
The meeting considered the proposed changes to the Constitution and agreed to recommend them to the 2008 Annual General Meeting.

ACUADS Awards Changes
The meeting considered the proposed changes to each of the Awards and agreed that they be accepted and the web site updated accordingly.

Auditor's Report 2007/2008
On behalf of the Treasurer, the Executive Officer spoke to the Auditor's Report noting that it was unqualified and that there was a credit balance of $14, 409.

The meeting then agreed that, in the opinion of the Executive, the financial report presents fairly the financial position of the Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools Incorporated as at 30 June 2005 and its performance for the year ended on that date in accordance with Accounting Standards and mandatory professional reporting standards in Australia and other authoritative pronouncements of the Australian Accounting Standards Board.

The meeting agreed that in the opinion of the Executive, at the date of this statement, there are reasonable grounds to believe that Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools Incorporated will be able to pay its debts as and when they fall due.

The meeting agreed that the Chair, Associate Professor Su Baker and the Deputy Chair, Professor Noel Frankham, be authorised to sign the Statement by Executive on behalf of the Executive.

Treasurer's Report
The meeting noted the Report and agreed to ratify the expenditure.

The Meeting commended the Executive Officer on her management of ACUADS' finances.

Membership Subscriptions
The meeting agreed that the Annual subscription fee for 2008/09 be increased by 5%, which would bring subscriptions to:

           Under 250 EFTSU      $693.00
           Under 1000 EFTSU    $980.00
           Over 1000 EFTSU      $1,055.00

Executive Nominations List
The meeting considered the list of nominations and agreed that as Professor Lyndon Anderson had not been able to attend Executive Committee meetings for some time, that, under the appropriate clause, he should be thanked and excused from membership.  The meeting noted that the number of vacancies would therefore be six with both Professors Noel Frankham and Clive Barstow continuing for their second year and Associate Professor Su Baker remaining a member as the immediate past Chair.

Web Site: New Publications Site
The meeting noted that this site would be launched at the AGM by Professor Noel Frankham as a member of the Editorial Committee.

Research Publication 2008 Conference
Kay Lawrence reported that:
A unit price of $6.50 (covers costs) plus postage had been agreed.
Packs of 100 reports will be sent to each of the ACUADS Schools who submitted entries, with an invoice for $650 + postage (around 14 Schools).
Around 100 will be given to the ACUADS conference delegates.
The remaining 500 will be available to other ACUADS member Schools.

Annual Conference: Brisbane 2009
The meeting noted that the 2009 Conference Convenor would be Professor Paul Cleveland of Griffith University.

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3. ACUADS Annual General Meeting 3 October 2008

The Chair, Su Baker, thanked Kay Lawrence and Staff, South Australia School of Art for acting as hosts of the 2008 ACUADS Conference.

The Chair thanked the Executive Committee, which has met regularly since being elected and noted that cost savings had been made by having some meetings by telephone.  She thanked the Executive Officer, Kay Morrissey and the Web Mistress, Kirsten Muir, for their contribution to the organization.

Su Baker acknowledged the contribution made to ACUADS by the retiring Executive members: Julian Goddard and Lyndon Anderson.

Su Baker also spoke on the retirement of herself, Elizabeth Grierson, Dom de Clario and Ian Howard, whose terms had expired, but noted that all had renominated, except herself as she remained on the Executive as Immediate Past Chair for one year.

The Chair reported that ACUADS principal areas of discussion and involvement over the past year had been:

Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA)
The ERA initiative is being developed by the Australian Research Council with advice from the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

Indicator Development Group, Creative Arts Sub-Committee
For many years ACUADS has played a significant role in the challenges, debates and evaluation of propositions around the nature and quality of research in the Creative Arts, in particular in Art and Design. As Chair of ACUADS, I was appointed as one of a six person Creative Arts Sub-Committee and welcome the opportunity to continue that participation in finding appropriate and discipline specific methods of evaluating high quality research outcomes in this field and to establish a productive and meaningful place for the creative arts in the research culture in Australia.

Future Proofing the Creative Arts in Higher Education: a scoping project for quality in creative arts research training (ALTC funded Project)
Project Leaders: Su Baker, Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne; and Brad Buckley, Sydney College of the Arts Graduate School, University of Sydney; and Project Manager Giselle Kett, Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne

This scoping project is an Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) funded initiative conducted in partnership between the Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools (ACUADS), the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), University of Melbourne and the Sydney College of the Arts (SCA), University of Sydney.

The project aims to survey the current state of doctoral programs in the creative arts in Australian universities and to investigate corresponding programs in a sample of overseas universities. Key areas the study will address include: the structure of doctoral programs; expectations of supervision, coursework, and examination practices; multiple research outcomes produced; new knowledge evolving through these models of research; institutional support required; and the needs and expectations of research candidates.
www.creativeartsphd.com

Roundtable - Scoping for quality in tertiary creative arts research training
After some discussions with fellow ALTC and other Grant recipients, a Roundtable discussion was held at the VCA in Melbourne, 14 - 15 September 2008, to share the scope of the various projects and to find common areas of concern.

As the creative arts PhD becomes the defining benchmark of quality and innovation in the field, the graduates, artists/researchers, will be the academics of the future. Their experiences and the quality of their work will substantially determine the future shape of the higher education art and design sector. It is therefore a timely opportunity to build high quality performance into the next generation of creative arts academics.

There are considerable synergies appearing in the initial discussions and we are keen to develop these further.

Publication Section – ACUADS Web Site
ACUADS Publishing is the first iteration of a site that provides opportunities to disseminate research from the member institutions. It is hoped that this site will offer a service to Members.

ACUADS Publishing is a searchable archive of recent art, craft and design writing and research outcomes from ACUADS members who wish to present material, not published elsewhere, to the professional community.

We are pleased to offer this service and will be keen to have further discussions about the publishing possibilities for ACUADS.

For more information or to submit a proposal, please e-mail publishing@acuads.com.au.

Australian Academy/Council of the Creative Arts
Discussions have been held with colleagues, art form groups, such as ASPERA, NACMUS and conference attendees and there has been unanimous support for the proposal to establish an Arts Academy.  The next step is to draft a proposal and circulate it within the industry for comment.

Changes to Constitution
The Deputy Chair, Noel Frankham outlined the proposed changes to Sections 8 and 9:

• Bring the Constitution more clearly into line with efficient practice for electing Executive Committee members
• Two year terms for Executive Committee membership
• Office Bearers elected by Executive Committee
• Office Bearers elected for period of their term
• Any casual vacancy can be filled by Committee inviting an ACUADS member
• Clearly define when an election would be needed i.e. only when nominations exceed vacancies.

Annual Subscription Policy Review
The Chair asked the meeting to endorse a 5% increase in membership fees for next year in line with the current policy, adopted at the 2004 Conference, that subscriptions should be indexed annually. This would make the fee schedule for 2008/2009 (GST included) as follows:

Independent Audit Report 2007 - 2008
The meeting was advised that the Independent Audit Report and Statement of Financial Performance 2007/8, which had been handled by Melbourne auditor, Rod Hutton of UHY Haines, was unqualified and that we had ended the year with a credit balance of $14,409.

Yearly Comparison Statement of Financial Performance 2006/7
The Treasurer spoke to the Treasurer's AGM Report noting that: our annual expenditure is considerably down on last year with the major reductions being: Web expenses almost halved and no costs for advertising and CHASS Membership costs and that income from Membership has remained constant.

Election of Executive – Roll-call
A list was circulated against which delegates recorded their name and institution as being in attendance.

Appointment of Returning Officer
Ms. Karen Paris, Conference Administrator, was appointed as Returning Officer together with the Executive Officer, Ms. Kay Morrissey.

The meeting noted that eight nominations had been received for the six vacancies on the ACUADS Executive Committee. This being the case, ballot papers were circulated and an election held with the following duly elected for two years:

Brogan Bunt, Wollongong
Gordon Bull, ANU
Paul Cleveland. Griffith
Domenico De Clario, Monash
Elizabeth Grierson, RMIT
Ian Howard, COFA

The newly elected members will join: the Immediate Past Chair, Su Baker and two continuing members, each due to retire at the next AGM, Noel Frankham and Clive Barstow.

The Executive agreed to meet immediately following the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting so that office bearers may be elected.

ACUADS Annual Conference 2009 – Brisbane
The meeting noted that the next conference will be held in Brisbane in 2009 with the dates to be confirmed at the next Executive meeting.

Any Other Business

Retirement of Chair, Su Baker
Noel Frankham spoke to the magnificient contribution made by Su Baker during her years as Chair of ACUADS and noted that Su would continue to participate on the Executive as the Immediate Past Chair for a further year.

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4. ACUADS Executive Meeting 3 October 2008

Welcome and New Executive
Outgoing Chair, Associate Professor Su Baker, declared the meeting open and welcomed all present.  She congratulated the newly elected members and noted the make-up of the new Executive as follows:

Election of Office Bearers
All positions were declared vacant and the following were elected:
Noel Frankham, Chair
Elizabeth Grierson, Deputy Chair
Domenico de Clario, Treasurer
Gordon Bull, Secretary

The meeting noted that:
Associate Professor Su Baker remained on the Executive as Immediate Past Chair; Professor David Williams, as a resident of the ACT, retained the position of Public Officer; and Professor Paul Cleveland was the convenor of the 2010 Conference.

Other Business
The meeting discussed membership of CHASS and it was agreed that we should renew our membership for this year and the matter be reviewed in 12 months time.

5. ACUADS Executive Meeting 1 December 2008

Business Arising

2007 Sydney Conference: Parallel Papers Refereeing
The meeting discussed the problem of completing the refereeing of papers from the Sydney Conference in 2007 and resolved to refer the matter to Professor Howard with the offer of some assistance from ACUADS in the hope that the process could be completed as soon as possible.

Executive Membership
Professor Frankham explained that there had been a miscalculation on the number of vacancies on the Executive because the Immediate Past Chair continues on the Executive as a formal member (not ex-officio) for one year, but without facing election.

Following discussion the meeting agreed that to correct this anomaly, Associate Professor Baker be granted two months leave of absence to January 31, 2009 after which the position would be reviewed.

Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) Update
Associate Professor Su Baker, a member of the Indicator Development Group, reported on progress to date.  She advised that the process is now complete and that while the various committees remain until June 2009, the final report has gone to the Chair and public consultations will occur from mid December.  The meeting agreed that ACUADS will make a formal response once comments are invited.

Brisbane Conference – 30 September - 2 October 2009
Professor Paul Cleveland reported that they would be the host institution and that planning had commenced and that they would appoint an administrator.  The agreed dates are 30 September, 1 October, 2 October.

The meeting confirmed that the over-arching theme would be Interventions in the Public Domain and perhaps with sub-themes, one of which could be Trends in Teaching and Learning.

Various other proposals were discussed: profile successful ARC projects and perhaps invite a presenter from the ARC; perhaps less than two days on parallel papers; link call for papers around theme; include panel sessions; leave some space for discussion of issues which arise during conference; include co-ordinators for: honours, coursework postgraduate, research higher degree (MFA and PhD), first year undergraduate, etc.

Possible sub-themes identified were:
Industry and commercial engagement
Learning and Teaching
Research
Political strategic issues

Treasurer's Report
The meeting noted the Report and agreed to ratify the expenditure. The meeting was also advised that membership invoices had been sent and that the audit report has now been presented to the ACT Registrar General by our Public Officer, Professor David Williams.

ALTC Project Progress Report
The Project Manager, Giselle Kett, distributed a summary of the project plan and progress to November 30th. A copy of the Progress Report submitted to ALTC in July was also distributed to new Executive members to provide background material on the earlier stages of the project.

The main activities currently being undertaken are data collection and analysis; and a review of progress to date to inform planning for the remainder of the project, such as the possibility of further roundtable events. Interviews with PG Coordinators from a sample of institutions drawn from each state and territory are currently being conducted.

Over half of the PG Coordinator interviews have been conducted and the remainder will be conducted over the next three weeks. Several focus groups with current PhD candidates have been conducted in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, and further focus groups with students may be conducted in February. Additional interview questions were suggested relating to the number of APA scholarships received by institutions interviewed, and if the structure of a school included a separate graduate studies section.

Updating the project members' page of the web site was discussed together with access to examples of theses and identification of high quality theses by the Executive.  Professor Frankham suggested that the Executive could possibly nominate examples of best practice theses from their institutions and which are available electronically.

The final project report required by the ALTC was discussed and a report available on The Australasian Council of Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (DASSH) web site was identified as a possible model for both the Creative Arts PhD ALTC project and the Studio Teaching ALTC Project: www.dassh.edu.au/basp/about.

Associate Professor Su Baker advised that with the final report due 31 March, a  second Roundtable would be held at the Sydney College of the Arts, organised by Professor Brad Buckley, together with Focus Groups in both Sydney and Melbourne.  The meeting noted that it is planned to apply for a second year of funding.

Australian Academy/Council of the Creative Arts
Associate Professor Su Baker advised that she would circulate the latest draft for discussion and comment.  The Executive discussed the pros and cons of the title 'Academy' versus 'Council' and agreed that failing government funding support, limited contributions would enable a committee to be formed, web site established and regular meetings to be held.  The meeting noted that the sector's peak groups are very supportive and are willing to contribute financially.

Any Other Business

Executive Committee Resignation
The Treasurer, Associate Professor Domenico de Clario, advised the meeting that he had resigned from Monash as from 31 January and therefore would need to resign from the Executive, which will leave the position of Treasurer vacant.  The members thanked him for his contribution to the Executive and wished him well.

The meeting then agreed that Professor Elizabeth Grierson be appointed Acting Treasurer from 1 February, pending discussion at the February Executive meeting.

6. ACUADS Executive Meeting 13 February 2009

Business Arising

Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) Update
The meeting noted that ACUADS has made a formal response to the Draft Guidelines and asked that a copy be forwarded to the Heads of School for their information and dissemination.

The meeting discussed the increased workload for art schools, which is an outcome of the ERA data collection process, but agreed that the process will educate the sector on the nature of art.  Associate Professor Baker noted that the Group of 8 Universities had lodged a formal critical response of the Draft Guidelines, and that the Guidelines to Universities are currently being drafted.

The meeting agreed another difficulty for art schools was identifying the correct code when analysing data, but agreed that the onus is on the arts to make it work and that a positive outcome of the process is that it will improve the position of art schools within their universities.

Executive Membership
Professor Frankham noted that Associate Professor Baker has returned from two months leave of absence and that as of 31 January, 2009, Associate Professor Dom de Clario was no longer a member of the Executive Committee.

Brisbane Conference – 30 September - 2 October 2009

Professor Paul Cleveland advised they had now emloyed an administrator, Marie Gehde.

Australian Academy/Council of the Creative Arts
Associate Professor  Su Baker reported on the meeting held 13 February and advised that five Peak Groups, together with the President and Director of CHASS, and some members of the Executive were present. The meeting was advised that CHASS was very supportive of the proposal and they, together with other attendees, suggested some changes to the outline presented. The meeting agreed to form a Steering Committee and identified possible groups to be represented and that a Statement of Intent should be immediately forwarded to CHASS so that it could be considered at their forthcoming meeting February 23 thus allowing the Steering Committee more time to apply for seed funding so that they may evolve the form of the organisation.

CHASS Membership Upgrade
Associate Professor Su Baker spoke to the tabled papers and suggested that ACUADS upgrade its membership from Level 3 to Level 1 so that we may better promote the Arts Academy proposal.  She noted that this would be at a pro rata amount for the remaining four months less the sum already paid.

The meeting discussed this proposal and agreed to join at Level One for the remainder of this year and to put the proposal to the next AGM that we remain a Level One member for the following financial year given that ACUADS is the lead agency in trying to establish an arts academy.

Any Other Business

2007 Conference Publication
Professor Ian Howard advised that they had copies of the Research Publication left over from the 2007 Conference.  The Executive subsequently agreed that an email should be sent to all School Heads (for distribution to their Advisory Committees/students)  advising that they may have a box of publications for the cost of the freight.

Venice Biennale
Professor Howard advised the meeting that as Shaun Gladwell is the Australian Venice Biennale representative, COFA has taken a three bedroom apartment for the month of June and is inviting Art School representatives to stay.

Support Letter for Swinburne
The meeting considered the tabled documents and agreed that ACUADS would support their ALTC Grant Application.

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