Stan Grant has announced he’s stepping down from the ABC to move into a university role after a turbulent year. The journalist has been appointed as the inaugural Director of the Constructive Institute Asia Pacific with Monash University after leaving a nearly four decade media career. The move comes just months after Grant walked away from hosting duties on the ABC’s QandA program, citing racist abuse as the reason behind his departure from the show. Mr Grant hosted his final episode of the current affairs panel show in May, during which he said: “I am down right now, but I will get back up”. It also followed backlash over comments made during the ABC’s coverage of King Charles III’s coronation, which included discussions of republicanism and criticism of the monarchy. Grant said that the move was an “incredibly exciting opportunity”. “It aligns with my values and draws on my 40 years in journalism, as well as my commitment to doing public interest journalism better in a way that serves the public at a time when the stakes couldn‘t be higher for our country and for the world,” Grant said. Monash said that Grant’s appointment was a part of its “wider agenda” to address misinformation in today’s media environment, which it described as “one of the key social problems of the modern age”. “There is no better person to lead the advocacy for a more solutions-focused, democratic approach to journalist,” Dean of the Faculty of Arts Professor Katie Stevenson said. “Beyond the Institute‘s mission, our media students will have the privilege of drawing upon Stan’s rich experience and knowledge of media, and his passion to change news culture for the better.” Grant said that his discussions about the impact of colonisation around the time of the coronation led to an escalation in online abuse. “Since the king’s coronation, I have seen people in the media lie and distort my words,” he wrote in a column published by the ABC in May. “They have tried to depict me as hate filled. They have accused me of maligning Australia. “Nothing could be further from the truth. My ancestors would not allow me to be filled with hate.” The new appointment comes on the same day that a court decided a man accused threatening the former ABC presenter and his family could remain free on bail. Michael Steven Davis is facing four charges including using a carriage service to allegedly threaten serious harm to Grant. The alleged online harassment came after Grant stepped down from hosting Q+A with three of the charges relating to Mr Davis’ Twitter account RefuseResisAIS. Court documents reveal Mr Davis used his Facebook account Fixxhalo82 to post a video in which he allegedly sent a “message for my man Stan Grant” threatening violence. Mr Grant reported the online threats to police in Sydney just before midday on May 23. Originally published as Stan Grant to move to university role after leaving ABC Sign up for our emails