RINDOS OUTPUT 'NOT ENOUGH'

By Hal Crawford

Some University of WA academic do not fare well when judged by the standards used to assess estranged archaeologist David Rindos, according to the parliamentary inquiry into the Rindos affair.

Labor MLC Kim Chance said the committee on government agencies inquiry had examined the case of an anaonymous UWA academic who had an accepted record of 22 publications in 3 1/2 years.

But only one of thse articles whould have been accepted if the same standards UWA had applied to Dr Rindos' publications were applied to them.

Mr Chance made his comments while UWA human resources director Sally Zanetic was giving evidence to the inquiry into UWA's denial of tenure to Dr Rindos.

Ms Zanetic said Dr Rindos -- a former senior lecturer in archaeology -- had been denied tenure because his research output was not up to scratch.

Dr Rindos had only three articles published in three and a half years while the average academic at UWA would have published 15.

"This is one of the most difficult cases that any director of human resources could come across," she said.

When Dr Rindos was being considered for tenure he had been responsible for proving that he was competent for permanent employment.

"There have been extraordinary measures to ensure fairness," Ms Zanetic said. The tenure review committee set up to review Dr Rindos' case was not legally required and the decision to deny Dr Rindos tenure could have been made by the Vice-Chancellor, Fay Gale, alone.

"It seems to me, from the public comment I have heard in relation to the Rindos affair, that people have entirely missed the point in portraying this matter as a termination of employment," Ms Zanetic said.

The matter was not a sacking because every academic had to prove they deserved tenure.