The Australian: Higher Education Supplement 
24 June 1992

DIGGING FOR A SOLUTION

    Problems confronting the University of Western
Australia's deeply divided Archaeology Department are far
from over with concern that they may eventually be resolved
by the Ombudsman or even the University Visitor. 

    Although most Archaeology staff are scheduled to be
absorbed into the large Department of Anthropology on July
1, details of difficulties are still surfacing.

    The former head of Archaeology, Professor Sandra
Bowdler, who stood down from the post early this year, is
far from happy with the situation.  Dr David Rindos, a
senior Archaeology lecturer, who has been isolated in the
Department of Geography with six postgraduate students, is
not pleased with suggestions that his position there may be
uncertain.

    The university has put a ban on the enrolment of new
post-graduates into Archaeology programs.

    The latest meeting of the university's academic council
was warned the issue could be taken out of the hands of the
university. The council minutes show it was told was
"imperative that the university's due process should be
invoked and be seen to have been invoked."

    A feature of the meeting was the endorsement of the
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Faye Gale's, unusual proposal of
suspending the Department of Archaeology "for a defined
period" rather than to suppress or close it.

    This procedure is being seen as a way of avoiding a
fully fledged debate at the university's academic board, of
which the academic council is merely an executive
committee.  The academic board is charged with the
responsibility of determining departmental suppressions or
closures.