Paul McLeod interview, 25 October 2012

Paul McLeod interview, 25 October 2012

Business, Economics

This is an interview with Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Western Australia Paul McLeod. His teaching encompasses a variety of microeconomics courses including business economics in the MBA and M.Com courses, third year advanced microeconomic theory, Honours public policy economics, and resource and environmental economics in the M.Ec. He also contributes to the teaching of Mining Management for engineering students. Professor McLeod’s academic positions have included Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Commerce; Head of the Department of Economics; Executive Dean, Faculties of Education, Economics and Commerce, and Law; and he was the inaugural Dean of the University of Western Australia Business School.

McLeod, Paul

University of Western Australia Historical Society

Copyright holder University of Western Australia

MP3 files

Oral History

John Bannister

Paul McLeod

Interview 1: 51 minutes, 44 seconds
Interview 2: 47 minutes, 7 seconds
Interview 3: 52 minutes, 26 seconds
Total: 2 hours, 31 minutes, 17 seconds

128 kbs

Track 1
00:00:00 Introduction. Background, South Australia. Scholarship and Adelaide University. PhD at UWA. Davies, economic history and university housing. Economics. University days in Adelaide. Staff student interaction.
00:05:00 Changes. Interactions. Impressions of UWA. Comparisons to Melbourne and Sydney – Reg encourages people to come to UWA. Memories of Reg Appleyard leader of the group. Anglophile system. Petridis*. Travel from Perth.
00:10:00 Appleyard’s sales pitch. Ease of living in Perth, isolation. Micro economics. David Treloar. Environmental economics. Impressions of the university, comparisons to Adelaide. Architecture.
00:17:05 Budgetary restraints and entitlements. Working environment. Academic community at UWA. Tradition of morning tea. People interact with one another.
00:20:00 Student/staff relations. MBA students. Age of staff and students. Logically entitled to be here. Concerns of getting on the map. Part of the community. Perth isolated. Festival and world class or back water.
00:24:00 Creativity. Establishing a high quality MBA program. Interfaculty relations. Isolated faculties. Sporting competitions and social aspect. Trying to reduces layers of administration. Law, Education, Economics – Faculty of Economics, Commerce and Law. Super-Faculty doesn’t exist in the same way today.
00:30:30 Sharing facilities and buildings becomes too difficult. Direction of the Faculty. Regulations. Increasing the options and units available. Disciplines, core and peripheral subjects. Agricultural and environment.
00:35:40 Ken Clements, the research centre and economic research. Structures at the university. Connections with business. WA Government and Brianne Burke and gold tax.
00:38:50 Ken Clements from Chicago, desire for research. Mainstream economics. Micro and macro. Ken a leader in the group. PhD conference. Roger Bowden*. International reputation. Qualitative skills. Building the links. Unemployed academic.
00:45:30 David Treloar agricultural economics. UWA person. Sense of what is important. Head of Department. Passionate for students. Stickler for rules. Life was sport. Reg was interested in the big picture.
00:49:00 Douglas Vickers. Strict and straight-laced. Devout Christian. Everything is about work. Everybody has their place. US course focus. Intellectual pursuits.

Track 2
00:00:00 Paintings. Frazer Waters* and the War over Israel. Modigliani print. Intimate university. Social interactions. Each faculty has broadened its view on things. WA’s cross-disciplinary decision.
00:04:20 Diversity of courses. cooperation and interfaculty entrepreneurial. Evolution of courses. Variety of students. Cross-faculty work. Academic connection. Change. Students branch out.
00:07:05 CBRA* and the Americas cup. Interface into the wide world. University connections and applied research. State government commissions research for planning the America’s Cup. Sponsors from well-regarded corporates. Sponsors and the impact on the city.
00:11:20 Interviewing the Gucci and the syndicate. Solutions. Early career people and corporate analysis. Government and market research. Perth is showcased. Incredible technology.
00:15:50 Cottesloe beach. Attractiveness of UWA to the business community. Participation of teaching with classes. Better understanding of university. Businesses attached to the university. CBRA and applied research. Repository of all information. Love - hate relationships and isolated university. Resources are needed from business.
00:21:56 CBRA. Current Business School. Board meeting and academics. Car parking and coffee. Connections. Mining companies and the university. Work connections. Small issues with CBRA.
00:25:28 Community and international eyes on UWA. Things change over time. Relationship with Asia. Business School attracting students from Hong Kong and Asia. UWA reputation.
00:28:55 Attraction of UWA for international students. People important in the spear head of UWAs internationalisation. Darrell Turkington* belief in attracting students from Asia. Bruce Macintosh* and international centre.
00:032:28 MBA fair in America – putting self out there. Punching above your weight. Sandstone university. Function for graduates in Asia are well attended. UWA reputation and good degree was highly regarded. Paul Johnston and Alan Robson.
00:38:10 Alan Robson. Graduation student from Asia and Robson doesn’t stand on ceremony. Alan relates to the institutions.
00:41:53 Nurturing of the Business School at the university. Revenue is moved away to other things. University management of funding. The problems of the super faculty. One of the oldest MBA program. Underutilised base at the university.
00:46:04 Nurturing takes place and recognition. World class Business School and the value of the faculty to the university.

Track 3
00:00:00 Development of the Business School. Revamping the Faculty of Commerce and the Business School. WA Business School. Approaches to the outside world. David Johnstone knew the university inside and out
00:03:35 Other faculties and the new building. Solutions for money and new building. Tennis court site and Business School site. Purpose-built building.
00:07:52 Logical to give the Business School a new location. Benefits of the southern end of the school. Parking. River views and access. Crunching numbers and student projection and overseas funding. Traditional or modern vision of the building.
00:11:20 Tradition of the school. Modern statements. Architects asked to make projections. A turning point for the Business School. Facilities for students. Fulfilling objective and coping with numbers. Different style of building. Zone problems and modern planning. Clients and staff.
00:16:48 Clients students and community relationships. Relating to students in a different way. Talking to the staff. Students and the change in dynamic.
00:19:48 Change in dynamic and the change in technology. Contact with students. Turning point and the virtual university. Need to be on campus. Lecture on line. Do staff need to have an office at UWA. Globalisation.
00:24:11 Nature of large institutions. University of Strathclyde. Online students and international students. interacting and turning up to university. Changes to peoples offices. Everything on the computer. No books in the office. Need for a library.
00:27:58 Earliest research projects. Advertising and tobacco. Applied policy oriented research. Research into rents and river views. Natural research problems. Harvesting fish stocks. Reigning in the commercial catch. Licensed and recreation fishers. Policy fishing. Working out models. Research graphs recreational and commercial – sustainable harvest. Abalone and snapper fish populations.
00:35:45 Rock lobster fishing and stocks. Understanding catching fish and chasing fish. Rational behaviour.
00:39:11 Looking at career and retirement. Changes in retirement from university and social sciences. Internationalisation and university position and rankings. Isolated city running with people on the world stage. Mining and eyes on WA. Shipping and the university.
00:44:50 Historically a part of Asia. Ahead of its time. challenge to be positioned well. China Singapore and Hong Kong. Pushed along by the changes. Strategically heading off.
00:47:44 Reasons that changes occur. White papers tell that Asia is appointment. The University’s strategic plan. Dependence. Student and staff members view for UWAs future. Good track record. Wealthiest economy in the world. Mining boom and WA University. Economy and struggle and UWA in a good position. Campus has a lot of advantages.

McLeod, Interview 1, Track 1
McLeod, Interview 1, Track 2
McLeod, Interview 1, Track 3