Pridham says uni mergers are “the way of the world”
Multimillionaire investment banker and University of South Australia donor Andrew Pridham says Australia will see a trend of university mergers in coming years, in line with the University of Adelaide and University of South Australia amalgamation.
The South Australian businessman, who donated $5 million towards the construction of Pridham Hall at UniSA’s City West Campus, has backed the upcoming merger of UniSA and the University of Adelaide, revealing he was “on the periphery” of discussions for many years.
The now-Sydney-based Mr Pridham says mergers such as the establishment of Adelaide University from 2026 are going to be “the way of the world”.
“I think scale becomes important, because it’s the nature of the industry and life that you’re going to see that the commercial need for some institutions to get much bigger, to be relevant,” says Mr Pridham, who is a UniSA graduate.
“There are efficiencies, but a big part of universities is research, attracting research dollars, attracting academics, people who can actually do the research.
“Also, on the teaching side, just to generate revenue and efficiencies, you have to be attractive to overseas students and even to domestic students, to have scale and to be able to offer the breadth of courses. The quality of teaching is important.”
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Mr Pridham, who is also chairman of the Sydney Swans, has given a far-reaching and insightful interview about his life in the April issue of SALIFE magazine, which is out from Thursday, April 3.
The business leader will be back in town next week when the AFL Gather Round kicks off, an event which Pridham says has contributed to South Australia “going ahead in leaps and bounds”.
“I think Steven Marshall was a brilliant Premier and did a lot to grow the economy,” he says. “Now I think Peter Malinauskas, likewise, is doing an unbelievable job, with LIV Golf and the Gather Round and those sorts of initiatives, and even earlier than that, the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval, just all these things are adding to Adelaide.
“And I think it’s in a unique position in terms of education, in that it’s a very safe place for people to send their kids, if they’re international students, it’s relatively cheap to live in terms of housing, food, those sort of things, compared to Sydney and Melbourne, and so having a truly world class university, not just in terms of the size of it, does matter, in terms of the brand and the prestige of it, just to make it more attractive.
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“I think it’s a real opportunity obviously for universities, but for the South Australian economy, it’s a major industry, and that’s why I’ve always been very keen on it.”
Mr Pridham has previously donated $5 million to UniSA, with the funds going toward the building of Pridham Hall, a key facility at UniSA’s City West Campus, which features indoor sports facilities, a swimming pool and event spaces.
Giving back to his home state has always been important to Pridham, who attended Rostrevor College and left Adelaide in the 1990s to pursue his global career in investment banking.
“I guess if you can, I think you should,” he says of his philanthropy. “I genuinely have had more enjoyment out of giving than receiving.
“You know, building proper relationships and connections with people and institutions that you can support financially has been very rewarding. The university is obviously one, having a bit of involvement in the merger there has just given me a lot of pleasure, to give back to South Australia. Apart from coming from Adelaide, most of my family is living there and I’ve got a lot of business interests in South Australia as well.”
To read more about the fascinating life of Andrew Pridham and how he made his mark in business and sport, pick up a copy of the April issue of SALIFE magazine, available tomorrow from newsagents, independent supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths stores.
