My adult life experiences are almost all in the corporate world. However, in latter years, I have had an involvement spanning 15 years in governance roles at the University of Tasmania – on the University Council for 13 years, 12 of these as chair of its finance committee, 10 as Deputy Chancellor, and a member of various other committees, including presently chairing its Investments Committee. In thinking about the 125 years of the university’s existence, in the scheme of things my involvement now approaches two decades – 4 years a student in the early 1970s plus the recent years as a non-executive member on the university council and its committees. During this time there have been many changes – almost all for the better. However, there are changes to come, changes which may be difficult, but which in my view can be very positive.

Two things my contribution to this publication will not attempt to address. Firstly, others far more qualified are chronicling the evolution of our university and I happily leave them to do so. Secondly, by choice I will not dwell on the so well publicised negative social, economic and education metrics in our state. That we lag the nation in almost every measured criterion is discussed, but sadly not acted upon, by citizens, politicians, academics and commentators. If I start on this topic, my message will be crowded out. Rather, I will attempt to provide some strategic context to how the university is placed and to where it, and the state of Tasmania, may evolve.

I grew up south west of Wynyard, where I attended primary school and high school. About one third of my life was spent on the North West coast, with the balance, except for short stints overseas, evenly split between Sydney and Hobart. On the North West coast it is obvious, but in Tasmania generally, we greatly under-emphasise the importance of education to our well-being and to our economic health. This is less obvious in the capital where a large public sector provides a buffer. As mentioned, it is most keenly apparent in regional Tasmania. Let me provide some perspective on how I believe this should rank in our priorities and on how our lives can be individually and collectively altered for the better.

Whilst it is ‘outcomes’ that matter, I have no doubt that our focus and intensity of effort should be on the ‘means’ to improving our lot. And it is providing the means, which are entirely within our control, that the university can play such an important role – as our only tertiary provider, as teacher, as thought leader and as globally excellent researcher in selected and chosen fields. I think it safe to conflate the health of the university with the wellbeing of the state.

A state economy, focussed as a commodity supplier of goods, has delivered Tasmania a strong past, but no proud future. In fact, the competitiveness of Tasmania as a commodity supplier probably has not existed since the early 1980s. If this is accepted, then it follows that, to improve the lot of citizens of the state, we must build innovative, value adding enterprise.

Similarly, a university focussed only on old economies will lose relevance, prestige and critical mass and be surpassed by second tier universities in ‘mainland’ capitals and by other regional universities. Thankfully this is understood by our university as it attempts to position itself for the future.

We do have a constrained budget. But, Tasmania does have a very large annual total budget – total revenues for the current year are budgeted at a little under $5 billion, admittedly with a significantly large majority coming from federal sources. It is not that the funds are not available to stimulate strong economic and cultural enterprise, it is that we choose to spend it elsewhere – chiefly in administering ourselves. We as a state are not alone with this problem, but because of Tasmania’s relatively small size and our insistence on having all of the structural elements of the larger states, it is more apparent here and it is more urgent that it be addressed.

Continuing the parallel, our university, established under state legislation (owned by the state) similarly has a large, generally sustaining and annually increasing budget now approaching $600 million per annum. In a time of increasing information flows and information systems productivity, the university faces a medium term challenge of very significantly shifting its spending bias more towards its core teaching and research functions. As for much of the university sector and all governments, there is a growing, I believe urgent, need to spend less on managing ourselves and more on delivering the core functions.

The most difficult aspect of this change – coming whether we like it or not – is that of making the cultural changes needed. When costs exceed sustainable revenues, businesses and households change by necessity. When facing such trends, governments and government agencies move more slowly, losing the opportunity to reinvent themselves for good.

Change that I foresee is in streaming a significantly large element of the budgets, state and university, into stimulating, seeding, and providing an intellectual basis for, higher value enterprise and social endeavour. Necessarily this means spending relatively less on administrative processes. Not only can our university be a leader in this, it must be an exemplar.

Perhaps we can attract some outside capital, but we should not rely on this. Mostly we need to rely on our own resources – redirecting the spend from administering ourselves, to new or expanding, community engaging and corporately attractive, endeavour.

I am an optimist and am sure that our university will continue to change and adapt. It is well led, has hugely talented staff, enthusiastic students and shows every sign of understanding the challenges it faces. I want to be similarly optimistic that our state can also recognise its challenges and react to the community good. I see no reason why Tasmanian citizens cannot grow to have the highest per capita incomes in Australia, with continuously improving social metrics and accessing a University of Tasmania defending a position in the top half dozen of Australia’s universities.