An insight into the enigmatic Dr Peter Tannock (continued)

BC: Peter, when one surveys the American Catholic University scene it seems to be very politicised - you have very conservative institutions like Steubenville through the very middle-of-the-road, mainstream universities, like Notre Dame, across to others that are perceived to be liberal. When you set out to set up Notre Dame in Australia did you have a vision of what you were trying to set up? You seem to have established an institution that is characterised as neither overtly conservative nor noticeably liberal but has a very "balanced" face that it presents to the world. Has this been a deliberate strategy or something that has just evolved?

PT: We were very influenced by Notre Dame in the United States and their philosophy that you can't be a great Catholic University unless you are a great University! We wanted to be "mainstream"; faithful to the Church; servant to the Church; also servant to the wider community; welcoming people of all faiths, and, at the same time, presenting our faith to them.

Something that we did, from the beginning, which is very important for the future of this university and its mission and goals was to make it a requirement for undergraduates to take core units in theology, philosophy and ethics. It's not confronting, but it is demanding. And everybody comes together in that melting pot of this core curriculum. I think that is a very distinctive feature of this university and it symbolises what we are about.

We have had a clear mission and set of goals, and a broad plan. However, we have evolved, adapted and developed to meet need and take advantage of circumstance and opportunity. We couldn't have survived without that approach. We wanted to be a mainstream Catholic University but we also wanted to be adaptive to the market and what people want.

BC: It was pragmatic in a sense…

PT: … it was very pragmatic BUT with a philosophy, and a set of goals and a mission statement - a very good mission statement: "the advancement of learning, knowledge and the professions and the provision of university education within the context of Catholic faith and values."

We've tried to create the Catholic faith and values context and we've pursued the advancement of the professions. One of the things we are becoming known for is the excellence of our professional training. We focused on professional training because we see it as so much part of our mission in this society. If people are to take a particular set of values, attitudes and perspectives into society at large, whatever their faith background, they need to be influenced by what they get here. Excellence of professional training is what the market wants today. This is a private, fee-paying university. Only about 25% of the places at this university are partially government funded. People who come here want a return on their investment. And the best return most of them can see is a job at the end of it. Anybody who ignores that or who says "jobs don't matter - we're going to offer you a very substantial theological and academic education, and don't worry about the job market" is bound to fail. People want to know that if they send their children here, or they come here themselves, they will be very well prepared for the job market.

BC: One of the surprises to a lot of people in what you have done has been the Broome campus initiative. People have wondered how could a fledgling university like this afford a campus in that remote area of Australia. Was it bravery, or a folly, or…

PT: No! That's been one of the best things we've done. The Broome Campus was a product originally of discussions between Bishop John Jobst, Sr Pat Rhatigan SJG and myself. Pat Rhatigan was the foundation director of the Campus and John Jobst was the founding Bishop. I'd had a long association with the Kimberley region through Catholic Education. It's a magnificent region and there are great people up there. Education is the key to their future. When we were establishing Notre Dame, Bishop Jobst said, "I strongly support the establishment of this university AND WE NEED A PRESENCE HERE! There's got to be something for these people to head for in this world of the 21st Century. Getting through school these days is just not enough."

Bishop Jobst made the offer that if we established a presence in Broome he'd give us the old Nulungu Girls Boarding College. He said, "I can't give you any money but I can give you the campus".

Broome has been a defining initiative for Notre Dame. I think doing something for a remote region, and for people who have great needs, is a very positive cultural and mission experience for the University. It's also been an important symbol for the community at large, including governments, that we're not just on about a private effort here in the West-end of Fremantle. We - the university and the Church - are genuinely committed to service to the wider community and to those most in need. I think it has been very influential, not only on us internally but how people see the University at large. Has it been foolhardy financially? Well it has certainly cost us a lot of money, but we've also received a lot of support - particularly from the Commonwealth and State governments, and from private sources. We've had generous benefactors for the work at our Broome campus.

BC: In my last interview with you, you mentioned the importance in the American higher education system of building up endowments. How's your progress going in establishing an endowment fund to further the future work of Notre Dame?

PT: In some respects very well and people have been very generous to us, and in some respects we are still a long way from where we need to be. But we've had successes and they're quite significant. I'll give you a few examples…

Take the Prindiville Family - Bernie and Mary Prindiville and their children - they have endowed Notre Dame with two separate one million dollar cash gifts for chairs in theology and education. Very few universities could find individuals who would give you a million dollars let alone to do it twice to endow two chairs.

Wesfarmers has given us a million dollars to endow a chair in the School of Medicine.

Bevis Smith, another of our benefactors, has also given us a million dollars to fund a chair in the School of Medicine.

The Galvin Family recently gave us a million dollars to fund the establishment of the Roy and Amy Galvin Medical Library.

And of course the Church itself - the Archbishop, the Catholic Education Commission and the Sisters of St John of God - they were extraordinarily generous to us in a time of great need and, certainly in the case of the Archdiocese, when it could least afford it.

We have had great support from the community at large, which we are deeply grateful for. It wouldn't have been possible without our many benefactors in and beyond the Church. I've mentioned just a few but there have been lots of other people that I should have mentioned - individuals, religious orders, parishes. The Parish of City Beach for example, gave us two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to build our chapel on the campus. That was an extraordinary gift - and from a parish. Just imagine how difficult it must have been for a parish to raise that sort of money. Fr Phelan, the parish priest, came down to see me one day and said "this is what we'd like to do … you HAVE to have a chapel". So, there's a lot of reason for us to be very grateful to many people.

BC: Thank you for these insights, Peter. Next week I'd like to continue the conversation with you to explore your personal views on some of the challenges the Church is facing in the world today and the challenges we are all facing individually as lay men and women.

This interview was published in OnLine Catholics under the pen name Tom Scott.

©2005Tom Scott/Brian Coyne/Vias Tuas Communications
Published: 5Aug2004