THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE ANNUAL REPORT
Report of the Proceedings of the University for the year ended Slst December, 1953
To His Excellency,
Sir Dallas Brooks, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., Governor of Victoria.
May it Please Your Excellency,
I have the honour, in accordance with Section 43 of the University Act 1928, to submit to Your Excellency the following report of the Proceedings of the University during 1953.
1. Finance:
The Council and its Finance Committee have had with them three matters of major concern throughout the year: the need to balance budgets, the raising of academic salaries and the provision for necessary, though limited, normal development.
The Commonwealth Government reached the third and final year of its grants to Australian Universities in 1953 and renewed the States Grants (Universities) Act until the end of 1954 and increased the possible maximum grants, which are dependent on the extent of State Grants and Students' Fees. The consequence of this increase is that whereas this University received £313,423 from Commonwealth Grants in 1953, the new maximum is £385,414.
The following table shows the State Government Grants for years ending 30th June:
1943 £112,000 1947 £155,600 1951 £451,350 1944 122,000 1948 184,700 1952 506,150 1945 127,100 1949 300,000 1953 568,000 1946 135,100 1950 408,000 1954 603,000
The University's total receipts for the year (apart from capital gifts) were £1,629,616, the main items being:
1952 1953 State Grants £587,455 £579,459 Commonwealth Grants 377,987 360,854 Students' Fees 348,620 405,434 Sundries 215,613 283,869
£1,529,675 £1,629,616 Although the total University revenue increased by £100,059, in 1953, the General Fund incurred a further deficit which brought the accumu- lated deficit to £118,639. This amount is entirely clue to the inflation in recent years. On present estimates, by the help of Commonwealth and State aid, the next budget for 1954 will be balanced and it is hoped that at least a beginning will be made to reduce the accumulated deficit. The
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University was not able to raise academic salaries as much as it deemed desirable after taking into account the general economic situation of the community, the hardship caused by relatively low salaries and the need to attract and hold men of academic distinction for university work. A sum of about £115,000 has been provided for salary increments in 1954.
The Council was compelled again to raise students' fees for 1953 and also for 1954. The latest increase raises fees by 180% above the pre-war level. In round figures the science student is now required to pay about £100 per annum for his tuition compared with £35 paid by his older brother in 1939. The arts fees are somewhat lower. There are about 750 new Commonwealth Scholarships available each year to cover full university fees (in 1953, 2,035 Commonwealth Scholarships were held in this University) and with other financial aid available, about 60% of all students now receive some kind of assistance. The percentage is even higher for full-time students. At the same time the Council is conscious that the 20% fee increase in 1953 to be followed by a 2 5 % increase in 1954 must cause hardship to those parents who are paying fees for their children, and the recent increases have been sanctioned with much regret.
It is obvious that all Australian universities have now reached the end of the post-war boom. Student numbers have fallen since the 1948 peak and are now stabilizing at about 75% of that figure. In Melbourne the present total is 7,000, compared with 9,500. But it is certain that numbers will again rise steadily though not spectacularly. Apart from the pressure of more students, the University must continue to develop along established lines and also break fresh ground in the field of learning. The establishment of Chairs of Medicine and Surgery illustrates a necessary and much belated development, and Indonesian and Eastern Culture is a clear example of an important branch of study that needs development.
The solution of these problems is to be found along constitutional as well as financial lines. The fundamental need is to stimulate the understanding sympathy of both the State and Commonwealth Govern- ments so that there may be further liberalising of the terms on which Commonwealth grants are made and a developmental plan may be pre- pared for at least a period of five years. Universities in their scope transcend national boundaries. In Australia they should, financially, be recognized as national not merely state institutions. Signs are not wanting that all the Australian governments will soon co-operate with the universities in making finance available for all essential development.
2. Buildings:
No University buildings were completed this year, but the new Tribophysics building between Chemistry and Engineering was finished and space in the Chemistry building was, as a consequence, vacated to the distinct advantage of that department.
The new Wilson Hall plans are still in preparation but the general scheme for a modern hall suitable for ceremonial occasions and also as an excellent concert hall has been approved. Plans for beautification of the environs by the planting of trees and the laying out of lawns have also been approved.
The Council has also set in train plans for the new Biochemistry building to be erected on the Sydney Road frontage opposite the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the new Library (a first wing only, in this case, to cost £135,000), the site chosen requiring the demolition of No.
3 in the row of professorial residences.
The State Government has now indicated that it will make available
£500,000 as a first portion of a continuous building scheme over the next four and a half years, that will gradually overtake the present arrears and replace the unsightly and inadequate temporary structures which still disfigure the University. The Council is extremely grateful to the Premier, the Hon. John Cain, for this assurance of substantial aid for buildings in the next few years.
With the addition of another £300,000 in building trust funds the present programme includes the new Wilson Hall, a first wing of the new Library, Biochemistry, International House and the first section of the new Engineering buildings (Mining and Metallurgy), which is the only building yet started. It is now confidently expected that the most urgent work will soon be under way.
3. Council:
The Council re-elected me as Chancellor for the thirteenth succes- sive year and elected the Hon. Mr. Justice Dean as Deputy Chancellor.
Miss Myra Roper, Principal of the University Women's College, was co-opted to replace Mr. S. L. Prescott who resigned on takin.r' up his appointment as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Australia.
Professor Chisholm and Professor Amies were elected by the Professorial Board following the resignations from the Council of Professor Gibson and Professor Sunderland, both of whom went over- seas on sabbatical leave.
Mr. A. McDonell, Mr. A. E. Coates and Sir Peter MacCallum were elected and the Hon. Sir Edmund Herring and the Hon. Mr. Justice Dean re-elected as representatives of Convocation for periods of four years beginning in December.
The Governor-in-Council appointed Brigadier the Hon. R. W.
Tovell, M.L.A., to the vacancy caused by the death of the Hon. T. D.
Oldham.
Mr. J. G. Burnell, Dr. Clivc Fitts and Dr. Lucy Bryce, whose terms of office expired in December, were not re-elected.
4. The Professors:
Associate Professor F. H. Shaw was promoted to the new Chair of Pharmacology.
Dr. J. S. Anderson, F.R.S., Deputy Chief Scientific Officer of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, has accepted the position of Professor of Chemistry in succession to Professor Hartung.
Professor G. L. Wood died on the 29th June after 28 years of invaluable service to the University and the community.
5. Associate Professorships:
Dr. O. de R. Foenander, of the Commerce Department, and Miss Jean Polglaze, of the Economics Department, were promoted to the rank of Associate Professor.
6. Honours:
Emeritus Professor K. H. Bailey and Mr. A. A. Fitzgerald, Senior Research Lecturer in Accountancy, received the award of C.B.E.
Associate Professor Belz was created a Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur by decree of the President of France.
Professor Sir Macfarlane Burnet was awarded the Charles Mickle Fellowship of the University of Toronto. This Fellowship is awarded annually to that member of the medical profession who is considered to have done most during the preceding ten years to advance sound know- ledge of a practical kind in medical art or science.
Mr. A. E. Coates, Stewart Lecturer in Surgery, was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, England.
The Flon. Sir Edmund Herring received the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law at Oxford at the centenary celebrations of the birth of Cecil Rhodes.
The Vice-Chancellor received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws at the University of Glasgow.
Dr. Donald Thomson, Senior Research Fellow in Anthropology, was awarded the Rivers Memorial Medal by the Council of the Royal Anthropological Institute for his field work in Arnhem Land and sub- sequent publications.
7. Student Numbers:
The total number of students in 1953 was 7,028. This is a decrease of 292 on the 1952 figure of 7,320.
8. Medical School:
It is hoped to appoint the first Professor of Medicine in the Uni- versity's Clinical School in 1954. Sufficient money became available during 1953 for the purpose and Brigadier Irving, C.B.E., was appointed Organiser of the Medical Appeal which has as its objective the raising of £100,000 for the establishment of medical and surgical chairs.
9. Research:
The total income received for research in 1953 was £168,427.
This was made up of:
University General Fund Grants (made pos- sible by grants to the University by the Com-
monwealth and State Governments) £57,250 State Government Special Grants £11,275 Direct Commonwealth Government Grants . . . £34,647
Donations £44,583 Interest, Dividends and Income from Trustees £20,672
£168,427
These figures show the income specifically available for research, but in addition a considerable amount of research is conducted by mem- bers of the teaching staff as part of their normal duties.
Two developments have materially assisted some of our best students to undertake post-graduate studies abroad. Travelling scholar- ships awarded by the University were increased from £500 to £600 for 1953, and in June, the British Passenger Lines Conference revived a pre-war practice by offering twenty-five first class return passages to Great Britain to graduates from Australian universities going abroad for further study or research. Six of these free passages were awarded to graduates of this University.
Inadequate research funds have for a number of years past greatly restricted the expansion of departmental research, programmes. Early this year a request was made to Council for an increase in the annual University General Research Grant of £60,000, to be reached in three years by annual increases of £20,000. The Council has increased the General Research Grant for the 1954 Research Year by £10,000. As a result of this, the research grants awarded to students proceeding to a Master's degree will be increased in 1954 from the existing value of
£150 and £200, plus fees, for the first and second years respectively, to
£200 and £350, plus fees, whilst research scholarships for students pro- ceeding to a Ph.D. degree will be increased by £100 to £450 and £500 for the first and second years respectively. £7,000 of the £10,000 referred to has been set aside towards meeting these increases.
10. Overseas Students:
There were 240 Asian students at the University, 25 being women.
Sixteen were supported by scholarships granted under the Colombo Plan, and of these two are working for the degree of Ph.D., three for the degree of M.Agr.Sc, three for the degree of M.Eng.Sc, and one for the degree of M.Ed.
When Asian students were first admitted to the University many were allowed to matriculate under conditions somewhat less stringent than those holding for Victorian students. The Professorial Board has during the last few years required from them a standard equivalent to that of our Victorian students, and in consequence the examination results of Asian students are showing a steady improvement. In 1951 33% passed, in 1952 4 3 % , and in 1953 47%.
11. Resignations:
The following members of staff resigned during the year:
Mr. K. F . Alder, Senior Lecturer in Metallurgy.
Dr. D. F. Buckle, Senior Lecturer in Psychology.
Mr. A. J. Gaskin, Lecturer in Geology.
Mr. R. Grounds, Senior Lecturer in Architecture.
Dr. I. C. Heinz, Senior Lecturer in Pathology.
Mr. D. M. Hocking, Senior Lecturer in Economics.
Mr. D. W. Lees, Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering.
Dr. S. Ormerod, Senior Bacteriologist in the Public Health Laboratory.
Mr. H. N. Paine, Lecturer in Bacteriology.
Dr. R. W. Parsons, Sir Thomas Lyle Fellow in Physics.
12. Appointments:
(p) Mr. N. Abercrombie, Senior Lecturer in Town and Regional Planning.
Dr. J. S. Anderson, Professor of Chemistry. •
Dr. R. D. Brown, Senior Lecturer in General Chemistry.
Mr. C. L. Burns, Senior Lecturer in Political Science.
Mr. P. B. Carter, Visiting Professor of Law.
Mr. F . G. Davidson, Lecturer in Economics.
Dr. J. F. Duncan, Senior Lecturer in Physical Chemistry.
Mr. F. J. F. Fisher, Lecturer in Botany,
(p) Dr. O. de R. Foenander, Associate Professor of Commerce.
Dr. Joan F. Gardner, Lecturer in Bacteriology, (p) Miss E. E. P. Gill, Lecturer in Physical Education.
Mr. S. L. Goldberg, Lecturer in English.
Dr. A. C. Jeffrey, Senior Lecturer in Psychology.
Mr. P. N. Joubert, Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering.
Dr. J. D. Lawson, Senior Lecturer in Hydraulic Engineering.
Dr. Mary T. McQuillan, Lecturer in Biochemistry, (p) Mr. R. P. Meijer, Lecturer in Dutch.
Dr. D. W. Menzies, Senior Lecturer in Pathology.
Mr. B. C. J. Aleredith, Warden of the Union, (p) Miss Mary T. O'Keefe, Lecturer in English, (p) Mr. F. A. Philipp, Senior Lecturer in Fine Arts,
(p) Miss M. Jean Polglaze, Associate Professor in Economics.
Mr. R. R. Priestley, Student Counsellor.
Mr. D. Rowan, Lecturer in Economics.
Mr. G. B. Sharp, Lecturer in Social Studies,
(p) Associate Professor F. H. Shaw, Professor of Pharmacology, (p) Dr. D. Thomson, Senior Research Fellow in Anthropology.
Mr. T. B. Tomlinson, Lecturer in English.
Mr. G. S. L. Tucker, Lecturer in Economic History.
Dr. M. G. Whiteside, Lecturer in Pathology.
Dr. P. W. F. Whitton, Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, (p) = Promotion.
13. Staff on Overseas Leave:
The Vice-Chancellor (Professor Paton) attended the annual con- ference of vice-chancellors at Durham and the Congress of Universities of the British Commonwealth at Cambridge.
Professor Browne went to the United States of America as Visiting Professor at the Portland State Education Centre in Oregon. He also investigated educational aspects of television and carried out research on examinations in the United Kingdom.
Professor Cowen paid a short visit to Malaya as Commonwealth Liaison Officer of the British Colonial Office and later left for Harvard University as a Visiting Professor in the Law School.
Professor Gibson represented the University at the installation of the Chancellor of the University of Southampton, was a delegate at the Congress of Universities of the British Commonwealth at Cambridge and visited the United States.
Professor Goldman attended the First International Congress of Old Testament Scholars at Copenhagen.
Mr. S. B. Hammond, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, studied at the University of Michigan.
Professor Hills" participated in a U.N.E.S.C.O. scientific mission undertaking arid zone research in Egypt.
Miss Alice Hyde, Lecturer in Social Studies, carried out investi- gations in London and New York.
Dr. U. Radok, Research Officer in Meteorology, visited the Ant- arctic to investigate heat exchange between sea surface and air.
Professor Rubbo went to Europe and North America attending the World Conference on Medical Education in London and the Sixth International Congress in Microbiology at Rome.
Professor Sunderland was the University's representative at the First World Conference on Medical Education in London and a dele- gate at the Congress of Universities at Cambridge, and then went to the Johns Hopkins University Medical School, Baltimore, as a Visiting Professor of Anatomy.
14. Obituary:
I regret to record the deaths of the following:
Mr. G. A. Ampt, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, on 4th May.
Mr. A. R. Brown, Senior Library Assistant, on 29th December.
Mr. W. M. Buntine, a member of Council from 1933 to 1938, on 26th January.
The Hon. T. D. Oldham, a member of Council since 1939 and Deputy Chancellor from 1949 to 1951, on 3rd May.
Emeritus Professor E. W. Skeats, Professor of Geology from 1904 to 1941, on 20th January.
Miss Ruth Sugden, Senior Demonstrator, and Lecturer in Chem- istry from 1921 to 1952, on 20th January.
Mr. E. D. Ulrich, Librarian from 1919 to 1926, on 20th February.
Professor G. L. Wood, Professor of Commerce, on 29th June.
15. Distinguished Visitors:
Professor P. M. S. Blackett, F.R.S. and Nobel Prize winner, who is Professor of Physics in the Imperial College, University of London, delivered several lectures in the Physics School.
Professor H. J. Emeleus, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Cam- bridge, and a world authority on fluorine compounds, spent a brief period of lecturing and discussion in the Chemistry School.
Professor Benjamin Higgins, former Ritchie Research Professor of Economics, who has recently held United Nations appointments in Libya and Indonesia, lectured here, on the Economic Development of the South- West Pacific Area before proceeding to an appointment with the Centre for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Professor Frances Moran, Regius Professor of Laws at Trinity College, Dublin, and President of the International Federation of Uni- versity Women, visited and lectured in the Australian universities.
Mr. P . B. Carter, Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford, was Visit- ing Professor in Jurisprudence during First and Second Terms in the absence of Professor Derham.
The following Fulbright Lecturers were appointed to Melbourne for varying periods during the year by the United States Educational Foundation in Australia: Dr. E. E. Dale, Research Professor of Plistory, University of Oklahoma, Dr. J. Franklin Hunt, Associate Professor of Education, Hamilton College, New York, and Dr. C. 0 . Johnson, Pro- fessor of Political Science, Washington State College.
Dr. Julian Huxley, English biologist and author, and former Director-General of U.N.E.S.C.O. delivered the Dyason Lectures in October.
Dr. F. C. Phillips, Reader in Geology at Bristol University, and a leading authority on Structural Petrology, visited Australia under the aegis, of the British Council.
Under the auspices of the Extension Committee in association with various public bodies and learned societies, the following distinguished visitors delivered lectures during the year:
Sir Allen Daley, formerly Chief Medical Officer of the London County Council, on "Civil Defence";
Sir Ronald Fisher, Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics in the University of Cambridge, on "Population Genetics" and "The Analysis of Variance with Transformations" ;
Professor G. V. Partus, former Professor of Political Science and History in the University of Adelaide, on "The History of the Coro- nation" ;
Professor Mary E. Murphy, Professor of Economics and Business Administration at the Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences, and Fulbright Lecturer in Australia, 1953, on "Accounting as a Social Force" (Fourteenth Australian Society of Accountants' Annual Research Lecture) and a series of lectures on Accounting and Economics;
Professor Mylcs Dillon, Senior Professor in the School of Celtic of the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, on "Collecting Folklore in Western Ireland" and "History and Legend in Irish Tradition".
16. Commencement 1954:
The Council decided to hold the Commencement Conferring of Degrees for 1954 in the Melbourne Town Hall to avoid holding several small conferrings in the Union Theatre as in 1952 and 1953. This will be the first time since 1907 that the ceremony has been held outside the University.
17. Television:
At the request of the Prime Minister and with the approval of the University Council, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paton, accepted the Chairmanship of the Royal Commission on Television.
18. Vice-Chancellors Leave:
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paton, was granted leave for four months to attend the Universities' Congress at Cambridge in June. He also attended university conferences in Durham and Oxford, where cele- brations were held to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Cecil
Rhodes. Mrs. Paton accompanied her husband and the University has already benefited from their experiences in the homeland.
19. Benefactions:
Gifts and bequests totalling £136,785 were received or promised during 1953, including those mentioned below:
£13,300 from the Rural Credits Development Fund of the Com- monwealth Bank of Australia for research in Agriculture, Botany and Forestry.
£12,000 from the Estate of Mary Warren for cancer research.
£9,594 from the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria—£4,000 towards the Cyclotron in the Physics Department and the remainder for research in Pathology, Biochemistry, Obstetrics and Gynae- cology.
£5,396 from the Estate of Miss M. A. M. Lockie for the advance- ment of literature within Australia.
£4,089 from the Estate of Dr. Francis Haley.
£3,100 from the Estate of W. J. Foote for the Library.
£2,430 from the Estate of E. C. E. Dyason.
£2,260 from the Electrical Research Board, C.S.I.R.O., for the De- partment of Electrical Engineering.
£2,000 from the Estate pf Miss D. E. A. J. Smith for cancer research and the Edwin Nonus Smith Scholarship.
£2,000 from Consolidated Zinc Pty. Ltd. for research in the Depart- ment of Metallurgy.
£1,900 from Messrs. David Syme & Co. Ltd. for the Age Chair of Architecture.
£1,835 from the Rotary Club of Melbourne towards the Old Age Research Project.
£1,798 from the Herald. £1,548 for the Herald Chair of Fine Arts and £250 towards the Cyclotron in the Physics Department.
£1,750 from the Victorian Chamber of Manufactures including
£1,000 for the Cyclotron in the Physics Department.
£1,611 from the Estate of J. J. I. Winter.
£1,561 from Australian National Airways Pty. Ltd.
£1,540 from the Estate of Elizabeth Maguire for prizes or exhibi- tions for Law students.
£1,411 from the Estate of E. I. Tait (balance in connection with the Frank S. Ellis Memorial account).
£1,400 from Australian Paper Manufacturers Ltd. including £1,000 for the Engineering Appeal and £400 for research in nuclear physics.
£1,350 per annum from the Victoria Racing Club for investigation and research into methods of testing for presence of drugs in horses.
£1,220 from Kraft Foods Ltd. for Bacteriology and Appointments Board.
£1,200 from I.C.I.A.N.Z. Ltd. for Research Scholarships.
£1,002 from the Estate of Mary Taylor for a scholarship in French Language and Literature.
£1,000 from Mrs. Margaret Outhwaite for a scholarship in Law.
£1,000 from the Estate of Mrs. E. M. Shaw-for a wind tunnel at the Engineering School.
£1,000 from Dunlop Rubber Australia Ltd. for research scholar- ships.
£1,000 from an anonymous donor for the Department of Psychology.
£1,000 from the British Medical Insurance Co. for the Medical Appeal.
£1,000 from an anonymous doiior for the International House Appeal.
£1,000 from Nicholas Pty. Ltd.—£500 each for the Chair of Phar- macology and the Physiology Assay Fund.
With some regret I have to inform Your Excellency that this is the last Report I shall present as Chancellor. After holding the office for thirteen years I have decided not to be available again for election.
I have the honour to be,
Your Excellency's most obedient servant, CHARLES J. L O W E ,
Chancellor.
8/2/54.
