An Australian university is wiping clean the egg on their face after an embarrassing incident online nearly cost them their head for the School of Music.
Canberra’s Australian National University (ANU) published a job advertisement for a new head for their School of Music unbeknownst to their current and still-standing leader, Peter Tregear, as Fairfax reports.
The advertisement has since been pulled from the web, however it was originally posted two weeks ago and was made available to both internal and external parties, ANU’s School of Music having had zero consent or consultation before this was posted online.
The classified called for expressions of interest for the role of a Professor of Music – Academic Level E, the job specs asking for an “outstanding scholar with an internationally renowed (sic) research profile and a strong educational and leadership background …This position provides leadership and excellence in music.”
ANU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Marnie Hughes-Warrington, issued a statement in regard to the mistake, explaining that the new position was to be an addition to School of Music to “boost the school’s research and teaching capacity” and not a replacement of Tregear, who has said to have been offered a brand new contract in his current role.
Professor Tregear provided comment of the shock advertisement, “as one might imagine, I was rather surprised when colleagues started to contact me out of the blue to tell me my job had been advertised. I was travelling interstate and it took a while to find out what was going on.”
Despite the brief controversy, the Professor went on to cement his dedication to ANU and their growing School of Music, “I’m grateful to students and staff of the school as well as the wider Canberra community for their renewed and ongoing support and shared ambition and passion for the art form – you can have no doubt that all of us care deeply about ensuring the school, and great music education more generally, flourishes for generations to come.”
Professor Hughes-Warrington hopes to put the blunder behind them, stating she believes ANU’s School of Music holds an exciting, expanding future after making a $250,000.00 investment for equipment, facilities and a new program to further promote the school and it’s activities.
