Annual Lecture

Join us in Sydney on 12 November for this year’s Academy Lecture. Academy President, Professor Stephen Garton AM FAHA FRAHS FASSA FRSN explores 'When Universities Mattered'.

In the 175 years of universities in Australia, the Commonwealth has only been funding and setting the policy frameworks for higher education system for only 82 of those years. Yet today it is the dominant player in shaping the system and understanding the history of how the Commonwealth became involved may tell us something about the imperatives driving the policy framework in which universities continue to work. In this lecture I attempt to trace the origins of the Commonwealth involvement in Australian universities, focusing on the late 1930s till the late 1950s, when the Government saw universities as integral to transforming Australia’s economy and society. It was a time of intense interest in how universities could drive the public good, requiring significant investment and oversight. It was far from a utopia as the contested role of the humanities in shaping this future highlights. As we stand on the precipice of the fourth industrial revolution there is an urgent need to rethink the fundamentals of our current broken system and recover the ethos that universities matter and the humanities matter and both are central to Australia’s ability to navigate the challenges ahead.

Return to the Academy Lecture Website

Professor Mary O’Kane AC, Interim Chief Commissioner, Australian Tertiary Education Commission, will offer a vote of thanks.
The Academy Lecture will be followed by a reception.

Event details

Annual Academy Lecture: Professor Stephen Garton AM FAHA FRAHS FASSA FRSN
Title: When Universities Mattered
Lecture Date: 5.30pm, 12 November 2025
Venue: Chau Chak Wing Auditorium, Business School, Building 8, UTS campus (14–28 Ultimo Road, Ultimo)
Note: The Academy Lecture will be followed by a reception.

This event is being held on the eve of the 56th Annual Academy Symposium, The Humanities and Creative Practice. To find out more and register for this special event click here.

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