A View from Nigel Wood for the Faculty History

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Victoria had developed a unique and intensive model for agricultural and related education. In a relatively small State, a number of regional “training” colleges were established. These supported the labour force requirements for Victoria’s growing agricultural and related economy. Alongside the traditional teaching and research universities (in Victoria, only The University of Melbourne until the late 1950s when Monash began, followed in  the 1960’s when La Trobe was established), these dispersed regional colleges offered a range of education programs, and were managed by the State Department of Agriculture. Supported by Conservative State governments during the 1950s through the 1970s, a multi-campus, combined higher education and VET (Vocational Education and Training) network of colleges developed further.

By 1983, reflecting changes in other post-secondary education sectors (most notably in Education), the Victorian College of Agriculture and Horticulture was created as a free-standing organisation outside of Departmental control. Although a single legal entity in law, the College was managed as a loose federal structure, and funded by a single line item in the Victorian State Budget. These arrangements sat increasingly uncomfortably alongside other post-secondary education providers in Victoria and nationally. Although it was a free-standing education entity offering both higher education and VET programs, it wasn’t funded like other higher education or VET providers. VCAH’s single line State funding covered both its higher education (elsewhere federally funded) and VET courses, but it was not part of the Victorian VET Colleges and funding structure, overseen by the then TAFE Board.

The election of Labor governments in Victoria (1982) and federally (1983) severed the traditional funding and influence links for the College. The VCAH Ltd Board (VCAH was established as a Company, so the Board had real powers) recognised these challenges and appointed a Labor linked Deputy Director to re-align Government relations and establish a core sustainable funding basis for the College.

Nigel Wood secured federal higher education and State VET funding after he invited key federal Departmental  and Ministerial Advisors to accompany him on a charter flight around the rural campuses and escorted them to each campus. Federal funds began to flow. Victorian VET funding followed.

But these initiatives were quickly overshadowed by the “merger imperatives” created by Federal Minister John Dawkins’ sweeping changes to Australia’s higher education sector. And the newly released federal funding became conditional upon institutional merger for VCAH.

From VCAH’s perspective, the obvious merger partners were Melbourne or La Trobe. However, there were other Victorian and inter-state universities with rural campus networks and/or agriculture and related programs  – Monash and Deakin most notably, but also Charles Sturt, UQ and others, with whom a merger might represent a strategic choice more in favour of a networked regional University College grouping offering programs across a range of disciplines.

It was not to be! The senior academic and management staff of VCAH were, in large measure, graduates of The University of Melbourne and Board members were taken by the conciliatory approaches of The University of Melbourne through its new, industry experienced  Dean Lindsay Falvey. Further, the University of Melbourne’s Vice- Chancellor David Pennington  was adamant that the University should not lose this merger opportunity to La Trobe, or indeed another Victorian or federal agricultural network University.

The merger die was cast, but it would not proceed without a clash of cultures – although that contest would inevitably be ultimately determined by legal “ownership”. A research focused University was very unlikely to maintain a costly network of small and inefficient campuses which were ultimately grounded in teaching, and not research.