The University of Canberra (UC) today announced the establishment of the Vice-Chancellor’s Centre of Public Ideas (COPI), and the appointment of Professor Frank Bongiorno AM, who will take up the Donald Horne Professorship as the inaugural director of the Centre.
The Centre is an extension of UC’s focus on politics and democracy and will leverage the experience and expertise of the Vice-Chancellor and President, The Honourable Bill Shorten. COPI will deliver high-quality education, research and community outreach in the field of Public Ideas, with a focus on history and politics in an Australian setting. The name of the professorship honours the late Professor Donald Horne AO, a former UC Chancellor and leading Australian journalist, editor, academic, historian and public intellectual.
“The future will be shaped by what we learn from the past, by seeking new opportunities and equipping future generations to think differently and act with urgency,” said Mr Shorten
“COPI has the potential to position UC as a leading authority on Australian politics and society, with a view to influencing policymaking and debate through Public Ideas informed by history. UC’s location in the seat of Federal and Territory governments uniquely positions us to lead the way in advancing political debate, decision making and policy development.”
The Centre will build on UC’s research and teaching capabilities across its Faculties of Business, Government and Law and Arts and Design, explore how historical analysis can strengthen the understanding and practice of contemporary politics and restore long-term thinking to policymaking. It will facilitate collaborations across the University and complement the work of UC’s Centres of Deliberative Democracy and Creative and Cultural Research.
The Centre will be home to the University’s Pathways to Politics for Women and the work of Professorial Fellow Ms Michelle Grattan AO, a prominent figure in Australian political journalism at The Conversation. More programs and projects will be added moving forward.
“Professor Bongiorno was a logical choice to lead COPI,” said Mr Shorten. “His vision, aspirations and understanding of the times past and present and how they influence the future will support UC’s strategic objectives to lean into the next era of learning, teaching and research.”
Expanding on his vision for COPI, Professor Bongiorno said the Canberra setting is critical and will provide the necessary perspective to advance the Centre’s mandate.
“I am a historian, and much of my work has been in Australian political history. I notice that a great deal of public debate and policymaking in Australia happens without much sense of what I call “historical hinterland” – a rich sense of context that helps us see the present in perspective,” said Professor Bongiorno.
“We want to establish connections and partnerships with individuals and institutions – government, NGO, cultural and business – that will allow the Centre to play a creative role in generating fresh ideas and perspectives at a time when our city, nation and world desperately need them.”
The Centre’s activities will include undergraduate education, short courses and microcredentials designed for current decision-makers.
“We will also have a public program that will encourage the exchange of ideas through lectures, podcasts, publications and seminars. And we will have a group of distinguished adjuncts who will help to support the Centre’s activities. This is an exciting and timely initiative – and unique to UC,” said Professor Bongiorno.
“We live in a very different time now to then I first entered academia, initially as a tutor at UC in 1992. Students learn differently, academics teach and research differently, and universities, by and large, do much of their business differently. But many things have not changed all that much.”
“We have a responsibility to the communities we serve, especially in Canberra, and academics have the responsibility of equipping students to enter the world of work with confidence and capacity, and to be active and thoughtful democratic citizens. Then there are the opportunities to contribute to new research and fresh ideas about issues that matter to the ACT, national and international debates.”
The Centre of Public Ideas will officially launch in February 2026, when Professor Bongiorno commences at UC.