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Professional opinion
As the head of ATEM prepares to step down, he says competition is still shaping the sector.
Stephen Weller interviewed by Antonia Maiolo
When Stephen Weller began as president of the Association for Tertiary Education Management in 2009, memberships were down, which he says reflected the state of the sector at the time.
Today, ATEM – the peak professional body for tertiary education management – has more than 1800 members and is extending its footprint beyond Australia and New Zealand with a small chapter in Papua New Guinea.
“ I guess my motivation for becoming president was to ensure [ ATEM ] had a sustainable future,” says Weller, who is also chief operating officer and deputy vice-chancellor at Australian Catholic University.“ I had been a member since 1989, when I first joined the sector.
“[ Today ], through our efforts as a council, our executive director Paul Abela and all our members, we have seen membership rise by nearly
30 per cent and our finances rise by nearly 30 per cent [ as well ].”
In May, Weller is stepping down after six years as ATEM president. He spoke with Campus Review recently to share his thoughts on how the sector has changed during his tenure.
CR: One of the biggest changes we’ ve seen is that professionals are now taking a larger leadership role than ever before. How have professionals been able to shift the leadership balance between themselves and academics? SW: [ When ] I consider the sector, there are three key themes I think about.
One is the increasing student focus, [ another is ] the increasing focus on collaboration. And the other is exactly as you’ ve said, that notion of professionalism.
One of the key things ATEM has sought to do, has done, and will continue to do is argue for the recognition and acknowledgement of tertiary education management as a professional area that supports the sector.
I think that’ s been a real key focus, not just over the six years of my presidency, but over the last decade. It is a partnership. In the sector [ there are staff ] employed for their academic, teaching and research excellence but there are also staff members – within the student area, the faculty area, the marketing area, HR, finance, etc. – who are there because of their professional skills and expertise.
Unlike in 1989, [ when ] there had been this tension occasionally between academic and professional staff, I think there’ s a strong
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