Sunday Times, Perth
March 3, 1996

         Rindos given supervisor job
         
         THE University of
         WA's Ph.D Committee
         appointed Dr David
         Rindos as a supervisor
         one month after he
         was stripped of his job
         at the campus.
         
         Letters given by a
         postgraduate student to
         the Sunday Times this
         week show that Dr
         Rindos was one of the
         student's three super-
         visors.
         
         The others were the
         head of the geography
         department and the
         director of the Indian
         Ocean Centre for Peace
         Studies.
         
         Dr Rindos lost his job
         in June 1993 and was
         appointed supervisor in
         July.
         
         The student, who had
         been studying under Dr
         Rindos, was left
         unsupervised.
         
         Asked about the situ-
         ation. Dr Rindos said it
         was another example of
         lack of coordination at
         UWA, something he en-
         dured during his years
         at the campus.
         
         I've deliberately
         never raised this issue
         believing that, given my
         other students' experi-
         ences, I felt it was up to
         them to make such
         matters public," Dr
         Rindos said.
         
         "UWA obviously felt I
         was competent to
         supervise a postgradu-
         ate student as long as I
         was not on their books
         as an academic."
         
         The student wanted
         Dr Rindos to be a
         supervisor because he
         was a good teacher and
         was highly regarded
         internationally.
         

         Based on earlier
         experiences there, the
         student refused to be
         associated with Profes-
         sor Sandra Bowdler's
         controversial archaeol-
         ogy program.
         
         In 1993 this student
         and two others wrote to
         the WA Ombudsman
         complaining about their
         supervision.
         
         Their joint letter
         said: "We are writing to
         make a formal com-
         plaint with regard to
         some administrative
         decisions made or
         actions taken by UWA
         with respect to our posi-
         tion as postgraduate
         students.
         
         "We have previously
         complained, both ver-
         bally and in writing, to
         various officers and
         bodies at UWA.
         
         "Appended are copies
         of letter from the un-
         dersigned to various
         members of UWA out-
         lining our concerns."
         
         The Ombudsman's
         office said that after
         receiving the joint
         complaint, he learnt
         approval was given for
         Dr Rindos to continue
         to supervise the stu-
         dent's research as an
         external supervisor.
         
         "Your complaint
         seems to have been
         overtaken by events,"
         the Ombudsman wrote.
         
         A letter written by a
         senior UWA academic,
         dated September 20,
         1995, said the associa-
         tion with Dr Rindos had
         been necessary for the
         student's academic
         progress.