On the 14th of July, Vice Chancellor Amit Chakma was invited to speak on ABC Mornings Perth to defend the proposed changes to the School of Social Sciences. You can listen to the interview here.

The Vice Chancellor openly admitted he was not abreast of all the facts and the data sources in the proposal. We are here to help. We believe universities should be led by informed, evidence-based, and performance related governance.

Any reforms and restructuring of a university need to be undertaken in a manner that does not pay lip service to the minimal procedural requirements, and instead engages with students and staff in a respectful way, via genuine consultative processes.

The Vice Chancellor sent out an email to all students this morning about the proposed changes in Social Sciences. In this email, he finally addressed the impact this will have on PhD candidates, saying “Our PhD training in Anthropology and Sociology is proposed to continue.” I do not see how he proposes they do that with no staff in Anthropology and Sociology. Based on his performance on ABC Radio Perth, I do not think the Vice Chancellor is aware of what is in the proposal, nor does he understand what is entailed in completing a PhD.
— Charlotte Looram, PhD Candidate UWA