Philanthropists donate $5m to found Chair of Australian literature

A philanthropist couple has donated $5m to the University of Melbourne to establish a new professorship to ‘advance the teaching, understanding and public appreciation of Australian literature’.

The Boisbouvier Founding Chair in Australian Literature is funded by John Wylie, merchant banker and president of the State Library of Victoria (SLV) board, and Myriam Boisbouvier-Wylie, honorary consul general of France in Victoria. The chair will be a partnership between the University of Melbourne and the SLV, and will be based at the university’s Faculty of Arts’ School of Culture and Communication.

The university said in a statement that ‘the Chair will mentor and develop aspiring writers and also foster public programs that improve community appreciation of Australian literature’. Other duties include ‘developing specialised teaching for students who focus on Australian writing, and seeking to enhance Melbourne’s place as a UNESCO City of Literature’.

University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Glyn Davis said the chair was a first for Melbourne. ‘A fully-endowed Chair is a game-changer in any academic field, and this new position will not only transform teaching and research in Australian literature, but also the practice of writing and contribute to an even more robust industry.’

State librarian and CEO Sue Roberts said she hopes the chair will bring Australian writers to a broader audience. ‘This role will not only work with the State Library to foster the great writers of the future but will encourage all Victorians to read and support our homegrown talent,’ she said.

In an article in the Age, Davis indicated a chair would be appointed for five years, with the first chair likely to be appointed later this year.