It is probably not that surprising to find an economic historian at the helm of the University of Western Australia.
The laws of supply and demand place UWA in an economic sweet spot that new vice-chancellor Paul Johnson believes is virtually unique in the world today: the most established university in a developed economy experiencing growth.
Professor Johnson clearly believes his university, which he took over from Alan Robson at the start of the year, can help capture this good fortune and play a central role in the longer-term economic success of the state.
“Here we have a great university which is located in one of the very few regional economies in the developed world which is growing, growing fast, and reasonably confident that it will be sustained for a couple of decades,” he said.
Newly arrived from running La Trobe University in Victoria, Professor Johnson’s vision is big picture rather than too specific; highlighting the state’s need for broad-brushed investment in high-end technology and for more resources to be applied to academia.
In contrast to many in government, he does not seek to divine what those technology fields need to be, noting only UWA’s strengths in areas like agriculture and medicine.
But, like any good economics historian, Professor Johnson comes armed with a case study.
Stanford University is not just sprinkled liberally throughout an extended interview with WA Business News, it has also been highlighted in major speeches the UWA chief has given since taking up the role in Perth.
Californian-based Stanford is rich and successful through its links to the high-tech sector on the US west coast.
But that is not how it started. It developed on the back of a declining minerals sector with backing from the local legislature and the private sector, which wanted to the state to be free of the then dominance of eastern wealth.
Despite being backed by this historic reference point, Professor Johnson knows it will be a challenge both to divert resources from minerals wealth into building high-tech capability and to compete with a rising number of international universities, which also aspire to climb to the top of the academic tree.
While not revealing a blueprint for how UWA can achieve this, he believes there are some obvious ways to assist it.
Firstly, Professor Johnson said Australia was hamstrung by its tendency towards fairness in education funding.
By contrast, he notes, Australia’s sporting success does not come from putting a running track in every town; it is derived from selecting excellence and centralising training programs.
Perth’s position as a growth economy linked into Asia is a good reason to concentrate academic resources here. Strong academic excellence is a key element in high-tech development and helps bridge the gap between research, industry and the community.
Secondly, the wealth generated here by the resources sector needs to be diverted into developing high-tech industries that will outlive minerals, or at least their moment at the top end of the commodity cycle.
He suggests the state has the opportunity to use levers such as tax, regulation or other powers to encourage industry to invest in the state’s future.
In previous speeches he has talked of industry applying 1 per cent of pre-tax profit to a perpetual innovation fund to provide the capital.
