CHASS
CHASS held its annual general meeting yesterday. CHASS is the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences and ALIA is a member, so I went along to represent ALIA, the meeting being in Melbourne. CHASS has been around for only three years, and seems to represent a wide range of university-based members, and a sprinkling of others. “CHASS has negotiated its infancy in fine style”, the President said, and I guess that having turned three, CHASS is as ful of confidence as any three year old. The President is Professor Stuart Cunningham, of QUT, and the Executive Director is the memorable Mr Toss Gascoigne. They seemed remarkably cheerful for a group which exists because, as they say “Too often the skills and expertise in the sector are overlooked in setting national policies, and too often the needs of the sector are overlooked when it comes to funding.”