There doesn't seem to be much pain in Rebekah Brown land. The head of the Australian National University offered a positive view of the future but no mention of any bumpy road getting there.
As she faced the press, Professor Brown, the ANU's interim vice-chancellor, exuded warm words about the future of the "fantastic institution" she now leads - but no details of any pain the recovery from a series of crises might involve.
The only leader of the ANU left standing after both the previous vice-chancellor and chancellor resigned faced the press to talk about the newly-published "ANU by 2030" strategy.
The tough questions bounced at her: How much would she need to take out of the salary bill? Would she be in the running to take over the job permanently? How many jobs would go when AI took over administrative work? When will the ANU's deficit be cleared?
But hard questions didn't get hard answers. She showed all the skill of a dead-bat cricketer determined to get back to the pavilion with her wicket still standing.
"When do you think your deficit will have gone? When will the negative become positive?" she was asked.
"We, of course, hope that's sooner rather than later. There's a lot of structural forces globally that we're planning and working through. But I really would prefer ... Today is a day for our community. It's a day for us to celebrate," she replied, alluding to the 80th birthday of the ANU and the reopening of University House, six years after it was damaged by hail.
It's true that University House is a magnificent mid-century-modern accommodation place - a hotel in all but name - for senior people, complete with Boffins Restaurant and Private Dining Room "offering refined dining in a heritage setting".
But the questions at the press conference concentrated, unhelpfully perhaps, on how the ANU would achieve the sunny uplands outlined in the glossy "ANU by 2030" brochure which Professor Brown was also there to talk about.
"Will that implementation plan include guarantees about staff numbers," a reporter asked. Would the way the ANU was governed be improved?
"Well, our community's been really clear," was the response, "and so is our council about the really important role that our staff, students, and alumni play in our governance. We talk in the strategy around meaningful participation in university and institutional decision-making, and I expect that we will see that throughout all our internal governance structures."
The "ANU by 2030" document says: "Artificial intelligence enabled services will handle the routine reliably and at scale, freeing our people for the wisdom and care that only people can provide. It imagines that "human and machine intelligence work in concert, expanding what we can imagine, discover and achieve together".
So, reporters sought detail from Professor Brown. Would AI replace jobs?
On this, she seemed to be clearish: "No. We're, we're really, really clear that ... We're already using AI at ANU, like universities and other organisations across the country and across the world. But we want to make sure that we're using it well, and we're using it meaningfully, and we're really deliberate in how we use it, and it's really to support our people so that we can spend our time being really strategic with our efforts."
And then came another bouncer: Would she, as the interim vice-chancellor, put in for the job when it was advertised on a long-run basis?
"Oh, look, look, it's a privilege, what I'm doing. Interim vice-chancellor role's not an easy role. It's a privilege. Let's get through today. Let's get through our community meeting tomorrow."
And then a soft ball: "What is the core message behind the 2030 strategy?"
"The core message is that we're actually a fantastic institution. We deliver on our promise, a great research, great education, and really important convening for the nation. We contribute to sovereign nation, national capability building, and the strategy is about investing in that, reinforcing that, our fundamental principles, but looking at how we do that, for a new age, for the next 80 years."
