USP's Vice Chancellor Resigns - Official Release
To: All staff and students at USP
From: Professor Anthony Ashton TARR
I have a couple of things I wish to share with you today but will start with the most immediately obvious one to you all. You today received notice from the Pro-Chancellor, the Honorable Fiame Mata'afa of my resignation from USP for personal and family reasons effective 30 April 2007. I thank the Pro- Chancellor for her very generous and supportive comments and I wish the Pro-Chancellor and the Council every success as they continue to develop USP in the best interests of the 12 countries that make up the USP family. It is with considerable regret that I tender this resignation as I, and my family, hold the region and Fiji in particular very close to our hearts.
I would, as I leave, like to make a few comments and to recognize and acknowledge a few things:
First, as noted already, my family and I thank this community for the wonderful support and hospitality shown to us. There is very good reason why the Pacific region is already one of the leading tourist destinations in the world - quite aside from the beauty of the natural environment, there is the overwhelming natural friendliness of the people that is unique because it is so widespread, spontaneous and genuine.
Second, I would like to thank the staff and students at USP for their support and friendship. USP is a very good example of successful regional cooperation and I was proud to be associated with the USP family during my time here. The university is the main provider of tertiary education in the Pacific Island region and I think that it does a remarkable job with the more limited resources that it has compared to other similar institutions in neighbouring countries. Open Day at USP provides a good insight into the tremendous talent, energy and diversity of the peoples of the Pacific region and USP is greatly enriched by this diversity. It is a day each year from here on in I will be thinking of you and wishing very much I was once more in your midst.
Third, the corporate communities in Fiji and the region have been amazingly generous in supporting initiatives like the All Rounders scholarship program. This program, as you know, is designed to build outstanding leaders of the future by giving academically capable and gifted sportspeople the opportunity to develop their sporting ability & discipline while pursuing various courses at USP. Julie-Anne Tarr, in promoting this leadership program, only encountered support from the business sector; this generosity and willingness to support vision was similarly provided again and again in her pursuit of support for projects such as the construction of dormitories for USP, the renovation of the gymnasium - that I hope so many of you now use - the creation of the concept papers for the sports science programs and the blue prints and implementation for the development of the technology park that we are hoping will be one of the keys to reversing the brain drain that has so effected this region.
Fourth, and on a very positive note - the Information and Communications Park (the ICT Park) at USP – as I have just noted - is gaining momentum with several tenants in place. Again, as many of you may be aware, we sought rezoning of the Statham Street property in 2005 under the “Studio City” legislation in Fiji. This rezoning was granted and the effect of this is that audio-visual and IT companies setting up business within the ICT Park are eligible with the approval of the Joint FAVC / FIRCA Committee for tax concessions for 10 years. The benefits to the university through attracting tenants of this kind to the university are threefold: (i) creation of an income stream; (ii) establishment of experiential learning opportunities for our IT students who can get on- the- job training and work experience in the ICT Park; and (iii) joint research collaborations. For Fiji I see software development as an area where the country can develop a niche market. This has to be attractive as it is a “clean” industry delivering high returns to employees and it generates a lot of secondary employment.
Fifth, the university has refocused its research to make a more applied contribution to the region. Our joint venture with Dairy Farms Fiji in developing aquaculture and fresh water prawn farming at Nabua is a good example. The establishment of this collaboration between the university (providing the technical and research support), the private corporation (providing the management and marketing expertise) and government (providing the infrastructure) to commercially produce high quality fresh water prawns is the type of import substitution measure that will assist the national economy and its balance of payments position.
Sixth, numerous infrastructure projects for USP have been agreed upon and are on the horizon in countries like the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, the Cook Islands and Vanuatu. In Fiji, several projects like a new 6 building dormitory complex and a new $35 million ICT building were scheduled to proceed this year but political events have delayed their construction. In the midst of all of this it would be remiss of me not to comment upon the peaceful and collaborative relocation of the Ba Ni Ose settlement on Queen Elizabeth Drive. That this was accomplished in such good faith and without any rancour says a lot for the people of this community.
In conclusion, thank you for your support and friendship. I look forward to seeing and talking to many of you before we take our leave.
Anthony A Tarr
Vice-Chancellor
From: Professor Anthony Ashton TARR
I have a couple of things I wish to share with you today but will start with the most immediately obvious one to you all. You today received notice from the Pro-Chancellor, the Honorable Fiame Mata'afa of my resignation from USP for personal and family reasons effective 30 April 2007. I thank the Pro- Chancellor for her very generous and supportive comments and I wish the Pro-Chancellor and the Council every success as they continue to develop USP in the best interests of the 12 countries that make up the USP family. It is with considerable regret that I tender this resignation as I, and my family, hold the region and Fiji in particular very close to our hearts.
I would, as I leave, like to make a few comments and to recognize and acknowledge a few things:
First, as noted already, my family and I thank this community for the wonderful support and hospitality shown to us. There is very good reason why the Pacific region is already one of the leading tourist destinations in the world - quite aside from the beauty of the natural environment, there is the overwhelming natural friendliness of the people that is unique because it is so widespread, spontaneous and genuine.
Second, I would like to thank the staff and students at USP for their support and friendship. USP is a very good example of successful regional cooperation and I was proud to be associated with the USP family during my time here. The university is the main provider of tertiary education in the Pacific Island region and I think that it does a remarkable job with the more limited resources that it has compared to other similar institutions in neighbouring countries. Open Day at USP provides a good insight into the tremendous talent, energy and diversity of the peoples of the Pacific region and USP is greatly enriched by this diversity. It is a day each year from here on in I will be thinking of you and wishing very much I was once more in your midst.
Third, the corporate communities in Fiji and the region have been amazingly generous in supporting initiatives like the All Rounders scholarship program. This program, as you know, is designed to build outstanding leaders of the future by giving academically capable and gifted sportspeople the opportunity to develop their sporting ability & discipline while pursuing various courses at USP. Julie-Anne Tarr, in promoting this leadership program, only encountered support from the business sector; this generosity and willingness to support vision was similarly provided again and again in her pursuit of support for projects such as the construction of dormitories for USP, the renovation of the gymnasium - that I hope so many of you now use - the creation of the concept papers for the sports science programs and the blue prints and implementation for the development of the technology park that we are hoping will be one of the keys to reversing the brain drain that has so effected this region.
Fourth, and on a very positive note - the Information and Communications Park (the ICT Park) at USP – as I have just noted - is gaining momentum with several tenants in place. Again, as many of you may be aware, we sought rezoning of the Statham Street property in 2005 under the “Studio City” legislation in Fiji. This rezoning was granted and the effect of this is that audio-visual and IT companies setting up business within the ICT Park are eligible with the approval of the Joint FAVC / FIRCA Committee for tax concessions for 10 years. The benefits to the university through attracting tenants of this kind to the university are threefold: (i) creation of an income stream; (ii) establishment of experiential learning opportunities for our IT students who can get on- the- job training and work experience in the ICT Park; and (iii) joint research collaborations. For Fiji I see software development as an area where the country can develop a niche market. This has to be attractive as it is a “clean” industry delivering high returns to employees and it generates a lot of secondary employment.
Fifth, the university has refocused its research to make a more applied contribution to the region. Our joint venture with Dairy Farms Fiji in developing aquaculture and fresh water prawn farming at Nabua is a good example. The establishment of this collaboration between the university (providing the technical and research support), the private corporation (providing the management and marketing expertise) and government (providing the infrastructure) to commercially produce high quality fresh water prawns is the type of import substitution measure that will assist the national economy and its balance of payments position.
Sixth, numerous infrastructure projects for USP have been agreed upon and are on the horizon in countries like the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, the Cook Islands and Vanuatu. In Fiji, several projects like a new 6 building dormitory complex and a new $35 million ICT building were scheduled to proceed this year but political events have delayed their construction. In the midst of all of this it would be remiss of me not to comment upon the peaceful and collaborative relocation of the Ba Ni Ose settlement on Queen Elizabeth Drive. That this was accomplished in such good faith and without any rancour says a lot for the people of this community.
In conclusion, thank you for your support and friendship. I look forward to seeing and talking to many of you before we take our leave.
Anthony A Tarr
Vice-Chancellor
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