Massey University Seeks Staff For New Arts School
Friends of Wanganui Polytechnic have noted that Massey University New School of Fine Arts is seeking New Lecturers and Senior lecturers in Fine Arts Sculpture, Fine Arts Time based Media and Fine Arts History and Theory. The New Staff Positions are needed because of growth in the New Bachelor and Masters level courses.
Mark Southcombe of Friends of Wanganui Polytechnic noted the direct correlation between the Ministries Predicted Decline of the Wanganui Arts School and the establishment and growth of Massey Arts School. “It is a good example of the market mentality applied to education gone mad. The Government investment in facilities and high level teaching expertise in Wanganui is clearly being butchered by direct competition from a Predatory Institution that only began teaching Fine Arts this year. Now Wanganui Jobs are threatened by Massey - a Swelling Giant of an institution. The argument that there is demand to teach Fine Arts in Wellington is only true if the fact Fine Arts has already been being taught to Wellington People in Wanganui is ignored. If Architecture can be taught in only three places in New Zealand and all South Island students need to travel to study architecture why should students not travel to Wanganui to study fine Arts?”
Massey University began Teaching Fine Arts at their Wellington Campus in 2001.
“The Friends of the Wanganui Polytechnic call on the Government to Urgently address the Underlying causes of the problems with Wanganui Polytechnic such as the direct and predatory competition from Massey. We look forward to an announcement from the minister that addresses this market oversupply and predatory competition issue and not just the effects on the weaker Wanganui polytechnic”