Universities urged to look outward

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33532, 13 May 1974, Page 2

Universities urged to look outward

(NZ. Press Association)

DUNEDIN, May 12. A call on universities to look at means of strengthening their links with the community from which they derived their means of existence was made by Professor F. W. Holmes, of Wellington, when he gave the graduation address at the University of Otago yesterday afternoon.

Professor Holmes, who is chairman of the advisory council on educational planning for the Educational Development Conference, said: “I suppose that there will always be some tension between a good university, advancing and disseminating knowledge independently and freely, and the Government and people of the community around it. “Some of the ideas which emerge are bound to be critical of established practices and policies, and they are bound to be regarded by some as ‘unreasonable’ or ‘academic’. “At least the Prime Minister has acknowledged, perhaps more than many others in the Government or the community do, the importance in maintaining a decent and humane society, of having an institution like the university which encourages its staff and students to seek and speak the truth freely, by their own lights. I regard [this as especially important in a society like ours, where

so many in Government business and unions feel unable to express their own thoughts publicly on important issues. “REAL CHALLENGE” -‘‘l concede that not all the lights that shine from universities will provide great illumination. However, the remedy is not to extinguish them, but to rekindle them through the challenge of reasoned discussion within and outside the university, as the Prime Minister suggests. “The real challenge of his remarks to the universities rests in his suggestion that they are unreasonably aloof from the community and its interests. Many university teachers who are contributing to public discussion through the various media, lecturing to trade union seminars and courses and conferences on business and public service, will regard the accusation as unfair in their cases. “Others will argue that it is in the public interest that many of the university staff should be left relatively free from other pressures to pursue difficult lines of inquiry, to seek the truth whether or not the results seem likely to have immediate application, to speculate on matters which may appear relatively useless to many men in the street, or to improve and up-date the courses they offer their students. “Even so, I believe that it is in the universities’ own interests to look more carefully at the means of strengthening their links with the community from which they derive their existence.

“In some cases, we might draw more fully on the services of skilled people in the

community to help make university courses more stimulating, while in return we could apply the theories which we discuss and develop to a greater variety problems and community concerns. “As the Prime Minister has suggested, there could be interchanges of staff between universities and agencies of the public service. We could probably take more trouble to bring the results of our research and study to others in the community besides our professional colleagues, both through publication in a form understandable to the public and through a widening range of continuing education and extension activities.”