USQ Governance While many associate the role of a university Vice-Chancellor as that of a CEO who answers to a Board of Directors, the governance of USQ is undertaken by a University Council headed by the Chancellor. In a typical year, the Chancellor would chair seven Council meetings, participate in about 40 Council Committee meetings, 30 university committee meetings and staff meetings, be involved in six interview panels, attend and often officiate at over 50 USQ functions, represent USQ at around 30 community/government functions, and preside at 16 Graduation Ceremonies in Toowoomba, throughout Queensland, in Sydney, and in Kuala Lumpur. This far reaching and important role has enabled USQ to mature into an award winning higher education institution serving well the needs of its local, national and international community. When the Queensland Institute of Technology, Darling Downs, became by law an autonomous body under the control of its own College Council on 25 June 1971, the new College Council assumed responsibility for the development, control and management of college business and activities. Mr H.A. Griffiths (Bunty) was appointed the Chairman of the Council, a tribute to his long association with the Darling Downs Association of Advanced Education. At the first meeting of Council, L.J. Barker was appointed principal officer of the Institute and designated Director. The chairman of the Council, Mr Griffiths, and Mr Barker, agreed in 1971 to run the college as a business. A businessman himself, and an extremely successful one, this decision was congruent with Mr Griffiths’ talents and experience. It also suited Mr Barker’s style of leadership which was concise and authoritative. The approach adopted by these two men helps to explain the unique character which the Darling Downs Institute developed. Council decided upon the name, Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education and the Institute was officially retitled on 18 November 1971. In March 1972 Council adopted the phoenix symbol for the DDIAE with the Latin motto Per Studia Mens Nova which means “Through study the mind is transformed’. The phoenix is an ancient symbol of regeneration and immortality. In August 1975, Mr Griffiths was re-elected as DDIAE Chairman and went on to chair five Councils. At a small function in 1987, celebrating Dr Barker’s twentieth anniversary as founding director of the DDIAE, Mr Griffiths said it was now time for the college to adopt a wider scope.
The push for university status was presented. The late Dr Allison Dickson AO OAM was then elected as the inaugural Chancellor in 1990. She had been a Council member, and then Deputy Chairman of four Councils before taking up the position of Chancellor. She had the oversight of seeing the University College of Southern Queensland become the University of Southern Queensland in 1992, before her retirement as Chancellor in 1996. In 1996, Dr Don Stevens AO was elected as Chancellor to the 3rd USQ Council after serving as a Member of Council and Chair of the Finance Committee in 1995. During his terms as Chancellor, the University received significant recognition through winning several awards including the Good Universities Guides Australia’s University of the Year 2000-2001, before his retirement in 2005. Dr Bobbie Brazil AM was elected as USQ Chancellor in 2005 and retired from this position in March 2014. Her association with USQ spanned many years. From 1995 to 2001, she served in a voluntary capacity on the 3rd and 4th Councils of the University. Her extensive experience was central to leading the governing body of the University for eight years in a period of rapid change and strategic expansion. Her experience and commitment to public service brought a level of leadership and sound governance to numerous University committees. Current USQ Chancellor Mr John Dornbusch was appointed to head up the ninth USQ Council on March 2014. John has had an extensive list of associations with USQ over the past four and a half decades, while also building a career as a prominent business figure within the local landscape. He first stepped foot on the DDIAE campus as a student in 1972. He was the youngest of six children and the first in his family to attend any form of higher education. John says his early academic journey included many dedicated staff who supported him, and fellow students who would go on to become his lifelong friends. He also met his future wife, Margaret, on-campus. In the early-1990s, he helped form the first USQ Alumni Association at the request of the then USQ Chancellor, Dr Allison Dickson. Several years later, Council had a position for an alumnus, which John was elected to. He subsequently served as Chair of the Financial Committee for 12 years, Deputy Chancellor for eight years, and was honoured when the Council asked him to take on the role as Chancellor in 2014. Page 13