New Director for RSSS

PROFESSOR R A W RHODES,

B.SC. (BFD), B.LITT. (OXON), PH. D. (ESSEX) FASSA AcASS

Rod Rhodes is the new Director of the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University. He succeeds Professor Frank Jackson. He is also Distinguished Professor of Political Science in RSSS and Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Newcastle (UK). You can find the usual career résumé on his web page at http://polsc.anu.edu.au/staff/rhodes/. Such listings of appointments and publications are unreadable. Instead, Rod has written the following short, informal biography.

I am a Yorkshireman by birth. For those who do not know the UK, Yorkshire is the largest county and it is dedicated to rugby league, cricket and plain speaking. The nearest Australian analogy is with Queensland! Yorkshiremen do battle with Lancastrians just as the Reds confront the Blues in State of Origin. My home town is Bradford, famous for its writers (J. B. Priestley, John Braine) and musicians (Frederick Delius). I remember it as a dying mill town where the ducks fly backwards to keep the muck out of their eyes.

I had a ‘proper job’ on leaving school, working as a clerk for Power Petroleum before going to University in 1964. I did a business degree at Bradford Business School before doing a B.Litt. in politics at St Catherine’s College, Oxford. I did my doctorate at the University of Essex while a lecturer. Previously, I have worked at Birmingham, Copenhagen, Essex, Newcastle, Strathclyde and York. I joined the ANU in 2003.

I am a political scientist specialising in public administration and public policy. I am best known for my work on policy networks and governance but latterly my interests have turned to political anthropology. For example, my last project was a study of top public servants and ministers in the UK. I observed them in their daily life and, if the Directorship ever gives me the time, I will write a book on everyday life at the top. One of its themes will be the way everyday activities such as tea drinking help decision makers cope with crisis by domesticating them.

Over the years, I have done all the things that most academics do. I taught undergraduates and postgraduates for twenty-five years until I became a research professor at the University of Newcastle in 1994. I was Head of Department twice and both thrived under the RAE (the UK’s equivalent of the RQF). From January 2003 to December 2006 I was head of political science in RSSS.

Professionally, between 1999 and 2005, I was chair then president of the UK’s Political Studies Association. I am currently Treasurer of the Australasian Political Studies Association. I edit an international journal, Public Administration. I am a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences and an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences (UK).

I love most facets of my job whether teaching, research or management, although committees and the idiosyncrasies of some colleagues can be a tad trying. Nonetheless, I try to be ‘well rounded’. My partner, Jenny Fleming, is a Professor at UTas and we have four children between us ranging from 19 to 26 years old. They are a frequent source of divertissement. We share Towzer (a six kilo moggie), and a love of cricket and crime fiction. I prefer rugby league, supporting the Bulls in the UK and the Broncos here. Jenny is a life-time Lion’s fan complete with scarf and a total mastery of the club song. I run for fitness and fun and most Sundays can be seen plodding around either The Pinnacle or Lake Ginninderra. I have been known to tackle Lake Burley Griffin, but not too often.

I knew before I landed in Australia that RSSS was a world renowned institution in the premier Australian University. What I did not know was that Canberra was a gorgeous place to live. The description ‘suburbs’ does not capture the nature reserves, the wild life, the sheer space of the bush, and the light over the Brindabellas. Canberra is an undiscovered gem for most Australians, let alone Poms. I became an Australian citizen in 2006. I still have a Yorkshire accent.