Studying Architecture at Sydney University

The inside story

“my life as a student and academic”

I spent almost twenty years, as a student and academic, at the Faculty of Architecture (School of Architecture) at the University of Sydney, Australia.

Man, was that too long! Let me tell you about my experiences.

The Johnson years: 1968-1986

Way back when I was a young undergrad, our Dean was the late and beloved R. N. 'Peter' Johnson. We never knew why Richard Norman Johnson was called Peter: one story had it that this was his codename when he was shot down over France in the War. I hope it is true. He was one of the doyens of the Sydney architectural establishment, one of the patrician gentlemen who made up the favoured circle of the architectural elite. He was Professor of Architecture, Dean of the Faculty, and Head of School all in one. No one has held all three titles since, mainly because the 'School' existed nowhere in the University's constitutional machinery: it seems the title had been tacked on to his appointment, but the actual School had never been created.

Dean Johnson ran the place as a very benevolent autocracy: think Frederick the Great. His true love was his practice, and we students only saw him at the odd function, or when he gave a lecture in the one course he taught. In his later years, these lectures were increasingly given to others to do. The most significant event of his reign was the Grand Remonstrance of 1971 (or was that '72?), which was a mass uprising of students, riding coat-tails on the student unrest of the 1960s. The great monolithic courses were carved into a curriculum of a million choices. Not that the long-term effects were that great: the student body has a short memory, and the lessons of history fade quickly.

An inestimable education

In my opinion, the Faculty {school} provided the best undergraduate education it has ever done during the late Johnson years. Architectural academics are, as I have discovered on various travels, not in general the finest minds of the age. But for a few years the Faculty was a veritable Antipodean Athens by comparison to other schools. Not an upper-class twit factory such as the AA or Harvard, but one blessed with excellent scholars and gifted teachers with brains. Adrian Snodgrass, Richard Coyne, Jenny Taylor, Tone Wheeler and Tony Radford were ornaments to the undergraduate curriculum. All, alas, gone or let go.

Two great scholars: Dr Jenny Taylor and Dr Adrian Snodgrass

Jenny Taylor and Adrian Snodgrass were special cases: both inspiring, original and dedicated academics. They are by far Australia's most eminent architectural academics, and by far our best known internationally (we have the stats to prove it, if anyone cares to ask for them). They should have had a Chair years ago at the University of Sydney.

But they were not academic games-players. Unfortunately, promotions went elsewhere. We have heard some malcontents say that these recipients only gained their positions through nepotism, corruption and coercion. We reject and deplore these vile allegations. We have also heard some wits say that the only way one can become a professor at the University of Sydney is to be utterly ignorant of the subject one claims mastery of. We reject and deplore these witticisms, too. Come to think of it, we reject and deplore a lot of things. Like G-strings poking over muffin-tops. Man, do we deplore that.

The Julian years: 1987-1995

In 1986 the University suffered a derangement of democracy, and decided that Deans should be elected (the experiment was never repeated, those running the place reverting to the benign authoritarianism that comes naturally to aging academics convinced of the infallibility of their own wisdom). The thought of a contested election after twenty years of distinguished rule struck Dean Johnson as an unwonted indignity. He declined to contest, and soon after gracefully retired to the Chancellorship of another university, which he governed with an affable pomp.

The election winner was Dr Warren Julian, from my own department (DADS— you can read some of the story in my book The Favored Circle, and some more here). Dean Julian took the Faculty out of the Edwardian-gentleman status it had wallowed in for decades, viewing his job as that of a full-time professional administrator. But, to the local chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA), Julian suffered from the bubonic sore of not being a practising architect. For many years the profession waged a guerrilla campaign against the Faculty and, by implication, against him. This often consisted of veiled threats to de-register the school, for no good reason. All credit to Dean Julian for bringing us into the 20th century, and none to the RAIA for their malicious attitude.

The Moore years: 1996-2005

Dr Gary Moore, from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM), ran the faculty for a decade from 1996. He was a charismatic figure, popular with the students, and all those who met him for a minute or two. This man was a wheeler and dealer, a mover and shaker! Vice-chancellors {university presidents} and the elite of the Australian profession were impressed indeed.

And good on him, too! As a boss, it would seem, Dr Moore was a tad lacking in people skills: ‘kiss arse up, kick arse down’ seems to have been the motto. We've had a few moles in the university monitoring Dr Moore the past decade: “pig of a man” seems to be the consensus. Some claim to have been bullied and harassed by Dr Moore. But no one has made a formal complaint to the university, and until that happens we must hold Dr Moore blameless.

On my last visit to the United States I spoke to many people who had known Dr Gary Moore; including many of his graduate students, and his old colleagues at UWM. But not just there: I was surprised to discover that stories about Dr Moore can be found in architecture schools throughout North America. I wasn't actually canvassing views on the Dean; it's just that whenever I mentioned his name I always received an outpouring of vituperation information. Rather to my surprise, opinions about him were unanimous. I can't get into detail here, but I never heard a good word about him. For all I know the man has a fine mind and a modest demeanour; and he may well be a jolly good fellow, a great scholar, and a gifted administrator to boot. If I ever hear anyone actually say any of these things about him, I'll make a point of letting you know.

I think you get an idea of the man from this email he sent out a while ago:

I only met him once. My only impression was that he suffered from Attention Deficit Disorder. However, this is a common affliction of senior academics, who are riveted by the conversations of their superiors, but show little interest in those of anyone below the rank of associate professor.

Thomas Kvan takes charge, but not for long: 2006

Dr Moore's Deaconal imperium was passed to Dr Thomas Kvan in January 2006. You can read an excellent article here by Dr Elizabeth Farrelly (Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum supplement Nov 19-20, 2005, p 27) about Dr Kvan's elevation.

No doubt many were looking forward to the passing of the baton: we suspect Prof Heneghan amongst them. Alas, the Curse of the Farrelly had fallen upon Dr Kvan.

On his assumption, Dr Kvan found himself in a kvandary. He'd walked into an administrative cesspit. Some key support personnel had run screaming from the school shortly before. Their departure had made it rather obvious who had been doing the hard yakka, and who had not. It all became a bit too much: after one short perplexing year, Dr Kvan left for the University of Melbourne in early 2007.

Dr Julian returns to the cudgels: 2007-2008

Reluctantly assuming the Atlantean burden of previous years, Dr Julian was appointed Acting Dean upon Dr Kvan's abdication, 20 years after Dr Julian's first deaconate. In the faculty's alumni newsletter of Feb 2007, Dr Julian described the vigorous search for a new Dean. Alas, the search has proved as gruesome as previous attempts to find a leader. At the time of this writing in June 2008, a full 18 months after Kvan's abdication, the faculty remains without a deaconal appointment.

The school today

On an anecdotal level, I have talked to various students over the years who did their first degree at Sydney, then moved to the University of New South Wales for their second (professional) degree. Their common experience was that the students at Sydney were less friendly and more snobby. Whether this is a generally shared feeling, and whether it is still true, I cannot say.

What graduates think about Sydney Uni

On a more formal level, I have the results from the Course Experience Questionnaires. I discuss the survey here.

The columns on the chart show the number of Australian architecture schools whose students returned results. It varies from 12 to 15. The black dot shows the position held by the school at the University of Sydney. Position one indicates the worst school surveyed.