The newsletter for alumni and supporters of UNE Volume 2, Issue 1 / MAY 2015 / ISSN 2203-8000
unique
Autumn Festival
STEM mentoring program Integrated Agricultural Education Project
Virtual Reality
What do you see? Dr Gaye Chapman
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SMART Farm Innovation Centre
'Control Room' at the recently opened SMART Farm Innovation Centre
Prof. David Lamb
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INTEGRATED AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION PROJECT
Future agriculture
Two major milestones were reached in UNE's multi-million dollar Integrated Agricultural Education Project (IAEP)
The Integrated Agricultural Education Project (IAEP) builds on the University of New England's significant reputation for delivering quality graduates in the agricultural and animal sciences fields.
The fully-refurbished UNE Tamworth Centre has been officially opened by Federal Member for New England, the Honourable Barnaby Joyce MP, and UNE Chancellor, James Harris. The Centre offers upgraded technology to facilitate live remote access to lectures, face-to-face tutoring, and direct interaction between students and lecturers. The first sod has also been turned on the site of the new Agricultural Education Building (AEB). The new facility, which is due for completion by the end of the year, will include specialised laboratories and sound-proofed, temperature-controlled work rooms for researchers and students. The AEB will have a public museum space which will house the upgraded Zoology museum and exhibits from the Earth Sciences Collection. There will also be a café for the western end of the campus. The AEB will be an invaluable addition to UNE’s infrastructure, and will contribute to UNE’s commitment to producing the best-trained graduates in the agricultural sector. These milestones follow the recent completion of the newly upgraded Natural Resources lecture theatres and tutorial space, and the opening of phase one of the brand new Centre for Animal Research and Teaching in 2014. In a few months we will also celebrate the official opening of the UNE SMART Farm Innovation Centre, another component of the IAEP. With all its components, the IAEP represents a total investment of $46.1 million, and will deliver state-of-the-art teaching facilities for students, as well as increased opportunities for collaboration with industry. The IAEP is an initiative of the Australian Government as part of the Education Investment Fund.
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Have your say
vC
The Vice-Chancellor recently held a forum for staff members to discuss the strategic
planning process for 2016-2020 and has now released a Discussion Paper to introduce the planning process. The Vice-Chancellor invites alumni to also be involved in the
planning process and so is providing a copy of the Discussion Paper for you. It includes a
background to the Strategic Plan, as well as some of the internal and external factors we need to keep in mind while developing the final document. If you would like to contribute to this process, please email your comments and suggestions to:alumni@une.edu.au
Strategic Plan 2016 – 2020 Discussion Paper Background The need to develop a new Strategic Plan for 2016 – 2020 gives us the opportunity to discuss what UNE means to all of us and what we want it to look like in 5 and 10 years. Professor Annabelle Duncan
The planning process is, to me, at least as important as the final Plan. If, by the time the Plan is published, there is not buy-in to its direction, then it is unlikely to succeed. If there is buy-in, then implementation of the Plan will proceed much more smoothly, than if the Plan is delivered as a fait accompli, without wide discussion and input. This document is designed to set the scene for where Higher Education is going and to pose questions about what we want for our University. I will give an overview of my vision for what UNE should look like in the future, but stress that this is a discussion starter. If you disagree with me, say so, we need to have a good discussion around this, it is the future for us all that we are deciding. I would anticipate the final plan will be very short, it will be a statement of our aspiration for the University. Supporting the Strategic Plan will be a collection of Operational Plans from Schools and Directorates, which will spell out the specifics of how we will deliver on our vision. The plans will be updated annually, whereas I would hope the Strategy will be sufficiently robust to apply for the full five years. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threat (SWOT) Analysis It is traditional and sometimes even useful to start a planning process by conducting a SWOT analysis. At right is my attempt. It is by no means exhaustive but it gives an idea of the environment in which we are operating.
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ANNABELLE DUNCAN
The need to develop a new Strategic Plan for 2016 – 2020 gives us the opportunity to discuss what UNE means to all of us and what we want it to look like in 5 and 10 years.
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
• Teaching quality
• Loss of on-line market share over the past five years
• Personal touch
• Clumsy procedures
• Supportive collegiate system
• Not all our courses have cutting edge pedagogy and
• On-line teaching strengths • Some major research strengths • Culturally diverse • Small and therefore well interconnected?
presentation • Our Industrial relations environment is more constraining than that faced by private higher education providers • Aging infrastructure • Regional issues – transport, student employment, entertainment, jobs for spouses, attracting staff
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
• Small university and so potentially more agile
• Public funding constraints
Participation rates in higher education are much lower in regions than in urban areas, therefore we have an untapped potential market from which to grow our oncampus numbers • We are recognised for our strengths in distance education which makes us attractive to life-long learning, mainly mature age students. This is a market which is growing globally
• Competition is strengthening and has become global • Government regulation and reporting requirements imposing more constraints and more work on universities • Concentration of our business on-line (competition) • Dependence upon commonwealth supported places • Changing expectations of students
• Potential for growth in international student numbers • Prestige – we are well regarded, though maybe not wellknown • Partnerships with business • Tailored teaching packages
I do not think we need to labour the SWOT analysis, but if there are issues which you believe are important in our considerations of our future strategy, please feel free to add them.
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HAVE YOUR SAY
External Environment The Higher Education sector has changed dramatically in recent years, moving from an elite system with less than 10% of the population acquiring a higher education to one where about 50% do so. Uncapping of university places in 2012 resulted in more people gaining admission to Universities. In particular, more students from low socio-economic backgrounds (SES) now participate in higher education than in the past. This is surely something to be encouraged. However, public expenditure has not kept up with the increase in participation. Public Funding for universities in Australia is the 2nd bottom in the OECD. There has been approximately a 15 % decrease in real terms of per student funding from the Commonwealth over about the past 20 years. We are all trying to do more, to cope with larger classes, with less well prepared students with less money. This is not likely to improve, regardless of which political party is in power. Research Funds are also becoming more and more difficult to access and are becoming concentrated in centres of critical mass and excellence. The current Government wants to deregulate student fees and to decrease further the funding for each so-called Commonwealth supported student place (SCP). But as we all know the CSP funding pays for teaching, but is also used to cross subsidise research and to pay for outreach activities. Is it fair to ask students to pick up part of the bill for these broader activities. The current Opposition is talking about reimposing caps. The lifting of caps in 2012 resulted in increased numbers of low SES students participating in higher education. This is surely good for individuals, good for the communities in which they live and good for the country. Do we really want to move back to a more elitist system? Eighty years ago it was the norm to leave school at 14 or 15. Fifty years ago leaving age for most was more likely to be 16 or 17. Now, a tertiary qualification is becoming the norm. Higher educational attainment is just a mark of social improvement, do we want to go back into another dark ages, when we go backwards in terms of the educational level of our population. The higher education sector is becoming increasingly competitive, with 40 universities and over 100 private higher education providers in Australia. In an environment of fiscal tightening, how will we continue to compete and to thrive. UNE will need to develop a distinctive niche, what will this be? There are claims that the higher education market is saturated. This is possibly true for school leavers in the cities, but with participation rates in higher education in regions being approximately half the rate in the cities, there are certainly more school leavers who could attend university, if their aspirations can be raised and if universities can make the educational experience worthwhile and rewarding for them. Life-long learning has become a fact of life for most people now, with 4 – 5 careers being the norm, rather than the traditional “job for life.” This market is large and not as well catered for as it could be.
UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND – WHAT ARE WE? “UNE stands out from the rest because the Lecturers know you by name.” Laura Wetherspoon, (B Ed Graduate. Student response at Autumn Graduation ceremony 2015). UNE was established with a strong social contract, to provide access to higher education in the region. Furthermore, it was established with a mandate to offer distance education so that those who lived remotely could still study, even if they could not attend a university campus in person. That is a history of which we should be proud. Like the State University of Arizona I believe we should continue to define ourselves by whom we include and how they succeed, not by whom we exclude. Furthermore, I believe we should strive to encourage diversity and participation with the aim of having the demographic mix at the university match the demographic mix of the region.
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ANNABELLE DUNCAN
Even if student fees are deregulated, I would be hesitant to increase fees for our basic degrees too much. I do not believe a lot of our students can afford high fees and they are likely to be discouraged from study. But, in the absence of more public funding, can we find other ways to increase our income? Without more income we cannot continue to innovate, to remain at the cutting edge of pedagogy and to offer the high quality, personalised educational experience on which we pride ourselves. Can we set up a portfolio of courses, including high value, short courses for which we can charge higher fees because they offer immediate career returns for our student, as well as our more traditional courses. Should we try to introduce summer schools? We pride ourselves on being the first University to offer distance education. We have always done this and we do it well. But over the past 5 years we have been steadily losing market share as more universities enter the on-line environment. We need to innovate to regain our leading position, despite the increasing competition. With mutterings starting about a return to a two tier system of teaching-only universities and teaching/ research universities, we cannot assume that our current status is safe. There is also some discussion about preventing a University from enrolling PhD students in disciplines where that University does not have at least a 3 rating in ERA. If we want to retain our research then we need to demonstrate its quality (via ERA) and its relevance.
UNE stands out from the rest because the Lecturers know you by name." Questions • Should we be a comprehensive teaching university? • How do we go about indigenising our curriculum? • How do we internationalise our curriculum? • How do we ensure that everybody who studies with or works for us feels welcome? • Should we embed leadership skills into our undergraduate awards to add value to a UNE degree? • Can we develop a constantly (and rapidly) evolving portfolio of offerings (degrees, diplomas, standalone courses, summer schools) to respond to student needs? • Should we embed research into our undergraduate degrees? • Should our lecturing staff have teaching qualifications? • Do we need to focus our research? • Should our research be focussed on making a difference to our communities? • How do we diversify our research funding? • How do we become more responsive to changes in the environment? • Do we have a service culture? • What size student population do we want on-campus? On-line? • How do we attract students to study on-campus? On-line? • Where should we pitch our fees if deregulation comes in? Should there be a portfolio of offerings with different prices? DO WE HAVE THE COURAGE TO MAKE THE CHANGES? ARE WE PREPARED TO MOVE FAST ENOUGH TO ADAPT IN A TIMELY FASHION?
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ALUMNI DINNER
Alumni in Hanoi met with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Annabelle Duncan and Pro Vice-Chancellor (External Relations), Ms Gabrielle Rolan
CALLING ALL LAW GRADUATES OF THE UNE SCHOOL OF LAW The School is seeking to improve the careers information available to its current students and we need your help. Are you willing to be interviewed about your professional experience in Australia and overseas since you graduated and the way your UNE law degree has helped your career? Are you willing to provide job search advice and other tips to UNE law students seeking entry into the legal market? If so, please contact Karen Lee, Lecturer, School of Law, UNE, who is coordinating this initiative, at karen.lee@une.edu.au. Please provide your name, your contact details, the year you graduated and a summary of your work experience to date in your email.
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Autumn Festival
□ This year, there are students from over 60 different countries studying at UNE
If you have been an international student at UNE within the last 23 years, you have probably taken part in Armidale’s spectacular Autumn Festival parade. Students, alumni and family members walk in the parade, usually in national dress, and add to the colour and vibrancy of the event each
Allauddin (at left) with Muhammad Toheed
year. They then join the festivities on the Creeklands. Other activities include “Breakfast with the Band”, the City Canter,
research. This has meant covering the cost of chemicals
Bicycle Criterion and a Mile Foot race. While locals are aware
and providing a supervisor, Dr David Backhouse, who has
that there are international students studying at UNE, it
given him a wonderful level of support. The situation
is often at this event that they understand the diversity of
is quite different in Pakistan where staff are often not
countries represented in the student population. This year,
as approachable and the cost of research is born by the
there are students from over 60 different countries studying
students.
at UNE.
Toheed’s passion for agriculture stems from his family
One such student is Muhammad Toheed, from a farming
situation in Pakistan. Their 40 hectare farm supports over
family in Pakistan. Toheed is currently completing Master
60 people and has the benefit of a climate making possible
of Science in Agriculture research into bacterial canker that
three crops per year, and a plentiful water supply. Crops
affects tomatoes. As a self-supporting student at UNE, it has
include cotton, wheat, sugar cane, sunflowers and mangoes
been important for him to find paid work while he studies.
and there is also a dairy herd. While his brothers have stayed
One such job included working at the tomato farm in Guyra
working on the farm, Toheed has undertaken agricultural
and it is here that he saw the effects of this canker. His
studies, firstly in Faisalabad and now at UNE, and hopes to
research is comparing the efficacy of old polymerase chain
improve farming practices when he returns home. Should
reaction (PCR) control measures with newer LAMP controls.
this not work out, his alternative career might be in politics
Toheed chose UNE as it has an excellent reputation for agricultural and rural studies, and because the University
where his intelligence, social conscience and personality certainly fit him for the job.
is situated in a regional area. He has immersed himself in community activities, for example playing cricket for one of the local clubs. He is very appreciative of the assistance that UNE has provided both for his wellbeing through interactions with International Office staff, and for his
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Engaging China CHINA STUDY TOUR
The inaugural China Study Tour in late 2014
Jardines and Citi in Hong Kong. They visited
was conceived as an “immersion experience”,
a vertically-integrated cattle feedlot, a
to introduce students to the cultural
5000-cow Australian-developed dairy, a GM
and business environment of the nation
car factory and a suburb-sized vegetable
that promises to be the global economic
greenhouse. For two days, they immersed
powerhouse of the 21st Century. Students
themselves with specially assigned students
were studying a range of degrees-accounting,
from the Shandong Institute of Business and
business, agribusiness, agriculture and
Technology (SDIBT) where they learned about
economics-and came from Tasmania to
the high aspirations of fellow students of their
outback Queensland. Many were studying
own generation.
from home, only to meet other students for the first time in the departure lounge of Sydney Airport. For many, it was their first trip overseas.
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One of the highlights was meeting with UNE graduate, Mr Tim Dillon (BEc), who is Victoria’s Commissioner for Greater China, based in Shanghai. Angus Hancock, in thanking the
With the financial support of UNE Foundation,
UNE Foundation for his sponsorship, wrote:"‘I
students undertook a busy schedule that
was lucky enough to spend lunch seated next to
allowed them behind-the-scenes access in
Mr Tim Dillon, and that hour of conversation not
three areas: agriculture, manufacturing and
only allowed me to share friendly conversation and
finance. They sat in on numerous briefings
establish an extremely honourable contact, but
including the Australian Embassy in Bejing,
helped confirm my decision to continue studying
National Australia Bank in Shanghai, and
Mandarin language; return to UNE to undertake
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NEW ENGLAND: A PLACE OF INFLUENCE
a Master’s program; and pursue a career capitalising
their views about China and its new status as an
on the increasingly significant relationship between
economic powerhouse, but in their perceptions
China and Australia in agricultural trade".
of Australia and its ability to engage with China.
Another was spending time with Dr Alan O’Neill (PhD and MBA), who at the time of the visit was Group Head of Executive Development for Jardine
Meeting UNE alumni in Shanghai and Hong Kong extended the hand of friendship and employment possibilities for our students.
Matheson & Co Limited. He gave a presentation about the company’s 183 years of history, starting in Canton (Guangzhou) and working up to the present time, on how it became a leading global conglomerate with over 450,000 employees. He highlighted how leadership plays an important part in the development and running of such a diverse organization, and how doing business in Asia can be quite different to the way business is conducted in the West, particularly in countries like Australia. Tour leaders from UNE’s Business School, Dr Tony Ramsay and Dr Lou Conway, were enthusiastic about the value of this study tour from its planning stages to fruition. As envisaged, students stopped seeing China as a bundle of dry statistics and began to see it through the lens of Chinese society. It would be safe to say that no-one returned unchanged - not just in Tim Dillon sharing his insights into business in Greater China
□ With the financial support of UNE Foundation, students undertook a busy schedule that allowed them behind-the-scenes access in three areas: agriculture, manufacturing and finance. Watch the video at: youtu.be/YWfeJM0xrG8
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Gaye Chapman. Photo: Greg Weight
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DR GAYE CHAPMAN
What do you see? One eye sees, the other feels." PAUL KLEE
Dr Gaye Chapman spent her childhood in the country, at Mendooran in Central Western New South Wales, on the banks of the Castlereagh River. This has had a profound effect on her work as a visual artist as she focuses on regular working expeditions and visual research on the Castlereagh
You will find samples of her thought-provoking work
River in Central and Far Western NSW – her
here: gayechapman.wordpress.com/work/
childhood ritual games site – and aspects of the adjacent Goonoo country.
In Gaye’s opinion, learning about "Art" is not the central issue of meaningful visual literacy learning
Being able to gain recognition of prior learning
for adults. Visual literacy delivers benefits that add
for her significant body of work, was one of the
insight into all areas of life, work, study, private life
things that encouraged Gaye Chapman to enrol in
and mental health. Science, physics, mathematics,
a Master of Letters in Visual Art & Design at UNE in
information technology and history, for example,
the late nineties. This program was for some years
all require an awakened awareness of the building
available through Theatre Studies. The School of
blocks of art. To be visually literate is not a matter of
Visual Art & Design structure enabled her to pursue
whether one practices, appreciates or understands
studies by research and studio practice (painting) as
"Art" but it is a conscious awareness of the meta-
an external student and she graduated from UNE
language of symbols, shapes, form, line, colour and
with High Distinction and went on to gain a PhD in
design that permeate all aspects of contemporary
Contemporary Art (UWS).
life and a rapidly changing digital media world. She
Since graduation her practice has evolved exponentially with love of visual research as the driving and underpinning mechanism behind her work. She also gained an ongoing desire to communicate visual literacy through public forums particularly through gallery talks, as an artist educator, presenter and workshop facilitator
is concerned that we run the risk of being a visually illiterate society and strongly believes that there is a vital need to support, create and continue to fund art education across all sectors and levels of schooling in Australia. It is her belief that we all have an innate visual literacy that can be re-awoken through sensitive facilitation, guidance and play.
across Australia. From a fine art career perspective,
Putting these ideas into practice is the focus of her
she is a contemporary visual artist and painter of
dynamic art workshops and talks where she uses
international standing; recipient of many major
drama, ‘right-brain’ thinking and synaesthesia ‘games’
art prizes, scholarships, residencies; is represented
as teaching. She may be contacted about workshops
in collections; and has undertaken a number of
at: bookedout.com.au/find-a-speaker/author/
commissions and exhibitions. She was appointed
gaye-chapman/
Honorary Associate, Macleay Museum of Natural History, University of Sydney in 2009 and is currently an Artist in Residence on Bruny Island Tasmania.
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A mentoring program for first year female students
Women are underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines internationally. In Australia, within some of the STEM disciplines, only 33% of graduates are female and only 12% of the associated workforce is female. Furthermore, women who have advanced degrees in the STEM disciplines are far more likely to leave related occupations than women in other professions.
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WSTEM
□ Balancing the Equation is a mentoring program that targets first year female on-campus and distance students enrolled in STEM as they make the transition to higher education.
Balancing the Equation is an exciting new initiative at UNE. Balancing the Equation is a mentoring program that targets first year female on-campus and distance students enrolled in STEM as they make the transition to higher education. A key objective of the mentoring program is to assist female students to make appropriate and effective choices in pursuing and achieving STEM-related study and career goals during and after university. The mentoring program is multifaceted; in addition to the provision of one-to-one mentoring (faceto-face and at a distance), the program also will include mentoring training (face-to-face and online) for mentors and mentorees, forums with invited speakers, a careers forum and an online portal for
What is mentoring? • Mentoring is a relationship that leads to insight, decisions, planning and action. It is used for both professional and personal development. It strengthens knowledge and skills and builds capability. • A mentor is someone who guides and stimulates an individual's reflection and actions for improved personal and professional outcomes. • A mentoree is someone who wants to develop her knowledge and skills in a particular area. A mentoree is the driver of the mentoring relationship.
engagement, resources and networking. A unique feature of this program is that opportunities for face-to-face mentoring will also be sought for those students who are not on campus.
Would you like to be a mentor? Students (mentorees) will be matched with both an academic mentor and a professional mentor. We are seeking expressions of interest from alumni (male or female, from any region) who are currently working in STEM-related fields and may be interested in being
Further Information
a mentor or making some other contribution to the program. Training and support will be provided (face-
For more information about the program,
to-face or online).
including program guidelines, description of the role of a mentor (or supporter) and the link to the Expression of Interest form please go to our website: une.edu.au/wstem or email wstem@une.edu.au
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Sydney dinner â–Ą QVB Tea Room
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AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY TEACHING AWARDS
Virtual Reality
UNE alumnus, Dr Leopold Bayerlein, has been honoured with the highly coveted Australian Award for University Teaching. Leopold received this prestigious national awardone of only 16 awarded in 2014-in the Early Career category. The Australian Awards for University Teaching celebrate the nation’s most outstanding university teachers in their
□ Leopold received these awards in recognition of his outstanding teaching and student engagement activities
fields. They recognise teachers who are renowned for the excellence of their teaching and who have made a broad and deep contribution to enhancing the quality of learning and teaching in higher education. This accolade follows a number of awards for Leopold, including a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning from the Australian Office of Teaching and Learning, a UNE Early Career Teaching Excellence Award, and several university, national, and international teaching awards and prizes. Leopold received these awards in recognition of his outstanding teaching and student engagement activities. His teaching aims to motivate and inspire students through his enthusiasm for learning and innovative blended and online learning methods. Leopold has developed a virtual internship approach to teaching that intermeshes proven teaching strategies with an immersive virtual workplace simulation. Within his virtual internships, students engage with learning materials through a TV-show type video story. The story features a virtual accounting student who struggles with his work as an accounting assistant in an electrics store. Students follow the main character throughout the trimester and experience the highs and lows of his work and personal life. Throughout the trimester, students experience real world workplace issues and assist the story’s main character with his work challenges.
financial accounting and auditing at postgraduate level. Since 2013, Leopold also holds the position of Academic Master at Wright College and Wright Village. In this role, he provides academic leadership the college community and has developed and implemented a large number of academic support initiatives. Leopold’s research interests are in business
In 2007 Leopold and Phoebe decided to make Armidale their
education, the quality of financial reporting information, and
permanent home, and Leopold commenced a Master of
the behavioural aspects of financial accounting.
Economics degree at UNE. Since then Leopold and Phoebe combined have completed six UNE degrees (five of them postgraduate degrees). Leopold holds a Master of Economics (2009), a Doctor of Philosophy in Accounting (2012), and a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Education (2015). Leopold commenced his teaching career as a Lecturer in Accounting at the UNE Business School in 2011. In this role, he teaches financial accounting at undergraduate level, and
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Dr Leopold Bayerlein
UNE Office of Advancement
Here is a taste of what the virtual workplace simulation looks like: youtu.be/Fguj4oOzlUk
ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS
The UNE Business School will be hosting the biennial Australian and New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics 2015 conference, 'Thriving Through Transformation: Local to Global Sustainability' 19-22 Oct 2015, Armidale, New England, Australia.
thriving through transformation
There will be internationally renowned speakers, specialised workshops and masterclasses, concurrent sessions, and field trips. The Society is about integrated, trans and multidisciplinary research drawing on social, cultural, political, and ecological complexities to better construct our economies. Such transformation uses ideas from a variety of spatial and disciplinary domains, including local, regional, national, and global initiatives to deliver a just and sustainable world. One key local theme for the conference will be regional and remote sustainability and resilient communities, including transformation to sustainable healthy food, water and agricultural systems, as well as sustainable institutions such as local government. Added to this will be issues around transforming mining to deliver societal and ecological wellbeing including indigenous wellbeing. Naturally ongoing transformation concerns, such as a changing climate, economic and population growth, and global security, will also feature prominently. The organising committee welcomes suggestions from anyone for conference themes, special sessions, and sponsorship.
Dr Boyd Blackwell
Please contact Dr Boyd Blackwell on 0428 520 887 bblackw2@une.edu.au for more information or visit anzsee.org.
ANZSEE 2015
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DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARDS
Know someone who deserves a distinguished alumni award? UNE gives a number of awards each year to outstanding alumni in recognition of their service to the University, their professions and the community: • Distinguished Alumni Award • Distinguished Graduate Fellow of the University • Young Distinguished Alumni • Alumni Achievement If you know graduates who deserve one of these awards, why not nominate them? You can find details of how to nominate, who is eligible to nominate, who is eligible to receive these awards, and information on previous recipients at: alumni.une.edu.au/?page=alumnirecognition or contact the Alumni Relations Officer on 02 6773 3365.
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ATHENS
Location, location
Looking for accommodation in Athens? The Australian
libraries of the foreign archaeological schools as well as
Archaeological Institute at Athens runs a hostel that is
other museums and galleries in the city
conveniently located in central Athens, a few streets away from the Acropolis (its balcony has a magnificent view of the Parthenon) and within walking distance of the many
UNE has been an Institutional member of the AAIA for many years. Its aim is to promote Hellenic Culture and to
archaeological sites and the new Acropolis Museum.
encourage students, graduates, academics and those who
The hostel is a large serviced apartment with two twin and
access to the Acropolis, the ancient Agora, the attractive
one double bedroom, two bathrooms, a modern kitchen
district of Plaka, and Syntagma Square.
and a small library. Wireless Internet access and laundry facilities are also provided for guests. It is between two metro stops and therefore is within reach of the scholarly
travel with cultural purposes to stay in a location with easy
Additional information about the Hostel can be found here: sydney.edu.au/arts/aaia/athens-hostel.shtml
A treasure trove can be found in UNE’s Museum of Antiquities, including this red-figure plate depicting a woman making an offering (Athens, Greece, c460 BCE) The plate was purchased with donations from individual contributors and funds from the McCready and Preibish endowments as a memorial to Mrs Irene McCready (1926–2003), a major benefactor of the Museum of Antiquities at UNE. It also marks the 50th anniversary of the University as a fully independent institution.
Changes to the Graduates’ Walk pricing Initially, pavers south of the old Booloominbah gates were placed in a specific checkerboard pattern (ie, when this checkerboard filled, it meant that all the available pavers in the pattern were taken). As a result of family members requesting their pavers be close to another family member, the checkerboard pattern became disrupted and obsolete. We are pleased to advise that pavers are once again available on the original part of the Walk. The difference in pricing is that pavers in this part of the Walk now require a donation of $500, while those on the extended part of the Walk remain at $400. If you would like to donate to this program, please either contact the Office of Advancement on Ph: 02 67732318 or email: advance@une.edu.au, or donate via our online form: alumni.une.edu.au (choose “Online Shop” from the left hand links).
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Dr Ronny Noor
Cultural and Economic Ties the all-important beef industries of Australia and Indonesia. Dr Noor was accompanied by Mr Soegito Hardjodiko, a Javanese musician and teacher experienced in many aspects of Indonesian music-making. In particular, he is an exponent of gamelan music which UNE music students over many years were able to experience. Mr Soegito previously shared his expertise with UNE students and staff in the early 80s, and during this trip he conducted a gamelan workshop at the Newling Centre.
Mr Soegito (left) with Dr Noor
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Dr Ronny Noor recently visited UNE in his capacity as Education and Cultural AttachĂŠ for Indonesia in Australia. Australia currently has some 17,000 students studying in Australia in most sectors of education.
and Community Services
This was a trip back to Armidale for Dr
30 Indonesians working
Noor as he completed a Masters and
with their country’s beef
PhD in Quantitative and Ecological
industry who were half
Genetics at UNE in the nineties.
way through a six-week
His studies and research later took
intensive short course on
him to Tsukuba in Japan, Halle in
beef production at UNE. The course,
German, and Uppsala in Sweden.
funded through the Indonesia-
Other academic work has included
Australia Partnership on Food Security
roles as Dean of the Faculty of
in the Red Meat and Cattle Sector, is
Animal Science at Bogor Agricultural
a $60 million initiative intended to
University and Deputy for Research
strengthen relationships between
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at the same university. He has published widely on animal genetics, statistical insemination management in cattle and poultry, quantitative and ecological genetics, as well as research management in higher education. At the time of his visit to Armidale, he also met with
Gambang
ROBB COLLEGE
Stories to be told
With over two hundred years of recorded history, Pitcairn is a living legacy from the Bounty saga, and is a place of interest for seafaring captains, tourists, historians, filmmakers, and authors.
Model of the wreck of the Bounty at the bottom of the sea just off Pitcairn Island. Model by Maurice Allward. Image courtesy pitcairnandnorfolkislandssociety.co.uk
Therefore, recording the oral literatures,
knowledge, legends, place-myths, and TEK are
traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), and
quickly disappearing. This is the impetus for
localized place-knowledge of small Pacific islands
Joshua Nash, post-doctoral fellow at UNE, to
in danger of losing such knowledge, is crucial
document the oral histories and place-knowledge
for our appreciation of human history, people
in Pitkern, the Pitcairn Island language, and the
movements, and inhabitation.
language of the Bounty mutineers.
Pitcairn Island is both home to 48 permanent
Collecting and documenting this knowledge
residents as well as existing as a living linguistic,
for scientific understanding and preservation of
toponymic, and biotic museum, with endemic
the role of Pitcairn Island in the annals of Pacific
expressions of language, location-specific and
history is an integral element in appreciating the
event-driven placenames, and endemic species
intrinsic beauty, artistry, and creativity of the oral
of plants and birds scattered across the sheer
traditions of the island.
physical landscape. Despite this great interest for the linguistics, anthropology, and folklore of the Pacific, to this day no professional linguist has ever conducted fieldwork on Pitcairn. As a result, Pitcairn's oral
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KATE MARSHALL
Paying it forward When she was leaving school, Kate Marshall planned to work full-time at Coles and continue her second job at McDonald’s to save for 12 months so that she could attend UNE to undertake a Bachelor of Nursing.
After graduating from UNE with a Bachelor of Nursing in 2007, Kate commenced a new graduate program at Coffs Harbour Health Campus. This program was a rotational competency expanding program which included mental health, medical, surgical and critical
A UNE Equity Scholarship allowed her to dive
care. She also completed a second year nursing surgical specialty
right into learning and a career which she
program, including gastrointestinal, maxilla facial, cardio thoracic and
loves. She still chose to work two jobs whilst
vascular and orthopaedic care at John Hunter Hospital. After working
at university so she could afford the practical
in Darwin for three years in multiple roles, she then moved to Medicare
placements in a variety of areas and also
Local, providing support and education services to general practice.
experience college life. What was a passion for learning then is still evident as she undertakes a graduate certificate in Remote Area Health, a program which leads into the Masters of Indigenous Health and Nurse Practitioner Remote Area Specialty. Simultaneously, she is completing a graduate certificate in Social Change and Development. Her five year plan includes working towards becoming a Nurse Practitioner with a Remote or Aged Care specialty.
Currently Kate is working as a remote area nurse in Central Australia for Urapuntja Aboriginal Health Corporation. Her role is primary care provision to the local Indigenous community Arlparra/Utopia and the multiple surrounding outlying communities. The role involves acute presentations, health assessments and chronic disease management. Her interest lies in the area of Primary Remote and Rural health care with a specific interest in chronic disease prevention and management, particularly working with Indigenous Australians. “My message to the donors that took a chance on me and provided me with a scholarship is thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing my career kick start! I am, and will forever be, grateful- my life is richer, the life of my family is richer and I strive to help marginalised sections of our Australian community for greater levels of health, equity, education and overall improved outcomes‘closing the gap’ as it is so termed. I am paying it forward in any way that I can.”
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UNE Office of Advancement
MARK STICKSON
Who are you? How wonderful to have a job where you can travel to the Maldives to film surfers, or to Africa to follow rangers trying to stop rhino poaching, or to work with graphic artists to produce an animated series on motivating young Qataris to follow a career path. Mark Stickson, producer, director and developer of factual television, loves his work because this is what he is able to do-travelling to extraordinary places and meeting fascinating people.
Mark’s work has ranged across nature, history,
led strands for both Discovery and the UK’s C5.
engineering, science, food and children’s
These series featured the actors Mark Williams
programming. Having studied acting at the Royal
and Chris Barrie.
Academy of Dramatic Art in London and then, later, achieving first class honours in Science at UNE, stood him in good stead for the many facets of film and production. Early in his career, Mark was on the other side of the camera, playing many roles on UK television and in theatre and film. Most infamously, he played the long-running character ‘Turlough’ in
A major conservation series for Animal Planet, ‘Animal Lifeline’, followed. He also wrote and directed the pilot of SKY’s successful sciencecomedy series ‘Crash Test Dummies’. He then spent three years with Natural History New Zealand, where he continued to produce for international clients, including the very popular
the BBC series 'Dr Who'.
‘Up Close and Dangerous’ series for Animal Planet
Mark directed Steve Irwin, ‘The Crocodile Hunter’,
for Discovery.
in his first programmes for Discovery and Animal Planet, thirteen of which-including the iconic ‘Ten Deadliest Snakes in the World’-were later shown with great success on ITV and achieved huge
and C5 and the obs. doc. series ‘Tuna Wranglers’
Mark is now based in New Zealand and is the Executive Producer and Company Director of 5to9 Productions. He still loves his job.
audience figures. For ‘Crocs Down Under’ he was nominated as Best Director in the Royal Television Society Awards. Other awards followed when he was Head of Programmes and Executive Producer at Oxford Scientific Films (OSF). During his tenure OSF won both an Emmy and two Wildscreen Golden Pandas. Mark also moved OSF into history and popular science, producing high-rating presenterUNE Office of Advancement
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The ball’s in your court Born on 17 January 1945 at Castlemaine, Victoria, Bryan held a Bachelor of Commerce (UNSW), a Diploma in Law (BAB), and a Graduate Certificate of Higher Education (UNE). When he came to the School of Law at UNE, he brought with him a wealth of practice experience as an accountant, his almost 20 years at the NSW Bar, and his experience as a member of the Taxation Board of Review (appointed at age 36). In 1992, he was appointed to the Australian Accounting Standards Board. Between 2000 and 2011, Bryan was a senior lecturer at UNE. He taught, amongst other things, taxation, evidence, and constitutional law. But, in some ways, he is best remembered at the School for the compulsory unit he developed and introduced – LS 480: Advanced Research, Legal Writing, and
The School of Law has launched a fund raising appeal to endow a prize in memory of former Law lecturer, Bryan Pape, who died suddenly and unexpectedly at his home in April last year.
Advocacy which included “moot”. Not surprisingly, Bryan was also instrumental in the building of the moot court room in the School. He also took a big role in establishing the UNE AgLaw Centre-the only one of its kind in Australia-which continues to flourish and grow. More widely, Bryan is best known for his role in Pape v The Commissioner for Taxation (Pape). In that 2009 High Court case, Bryan was the first selfrepresented legal academic to argue a case before the court in its 110 year history. Due to Pape, a line of cases began that restrict the Commonwealth’s disbursement of monies. The Commonwealth can now only disburse monies when it is clearly within its constitutional power to do so. That was always Bryan’s argument. Bryan set high standards as a teacher and he often talked of rigour. He had many memorable mantras for students: ‘Look it up’, ‘clear, concise, and correct’ and ‘preparation, preparation, preparation’. He also had humour: ‘if you are ten minutes early, you are late’. Behind his gruff and irascible exterior, there was warm heartedness and a deep compassion, especially for hard working students Since Bryan’s death, the School has wanted to mark his distinctive contributions, both at UNE and more broadly in the community, with the establishment of The Bryan Pape Memorial Prize for Constitutional Law. To download a donation form, please go to une.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/100092/pape_ donation-form.pdf or, to donate using your credit card, please go to une.edu. au/pape-credit-card
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UNE Office of Advancement
WRIGHT COLLEGE
A new chapter
The recent grand opening of the new Wright College buildings has added another chapter to the long and esteemed history of the College. From its beginnings in 1958 until its temporary demise in 1996, Wright College has been at the heart of academic, social and political movements, as well as providing a home for
To nominate for membership of the Wright
hundreds of residents.
College SCR, please go to: goo.gl/v4tLT7 to
The new Wright College, home now to almost
the College. Nominations will be assessed by the
200 residents, opened its doors in 2014. It is now
SCR Executive Group. The first general meeting of
time to re-establish the Senior Common Room
the Wright College SCR will be on 1 July 2015.
download the form and return it to the Head of
to assist the College in extending its successful history into the future. The objectives of the SCR are to actively promote, support and protect the intellectual, academic, social, cultural and sporting interests of the College, and to improve the physical environment for residents.
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EVENT CALENDAR
What's on For more details about these and other events, please visit: une.edu.au/connect/events or alumni.une.edu.au/events/event_list.asp
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31 May
Deadline for expressions of interest to be a mentor for the WSTEM program
6 June
India: 2015 Australian Alumni Excellence Awards
1 July
Wright College: First meeting of the re-formed Wright College SRC
13 July (TBC)
Armidale Alumni Association: Antarctic focus-dinner with guest speakers
30 July
Nominations close for alumni awards
5 August
Earle Page College Politics Lecture: Senator Penny Wong
7 August
Armidale: Farming Futures Careers Fair and dinner
27 August
Parramatta: FutureCampus Business before 9
10 September
Canberra: alumni event-venue TBC
7 September
Armidale Alumni Association: country of focus Africa
30 September
Armidale: 30th Annual Russel Ward lecture presented by Dr Carolyn Holbrook on the centenary of ANZAC
15 October
Melbourne: alumni event- TBC
15 October
Parramatta: FutureCampus Business before 9
17 October
SACUNE AGM and lunch at the “Tickle tank” in Mt Barker
19-22 Oct
Armidale: 'Thriving Through Transformation: Local to Global Sustainability' conference
16 November
Armidale Alumni: AGM and “What Makes Me Tick?”
UNE Office of Advancement
SACUNE
WEST TERRACE
CEMETERY TOUR
“It was a dark and wintry night” when twenty UNE alumni
body of a fully dressed man being found on the beach with
and friends gathered just inside the entrance of West Terrace
no clues to his identity, labels having been cut off his clothes.
Cemetery in Adelaide. Having been issued with lanterns,
In his pocket a piece of paper was discovered on which was
which also had an audio capacity, the group headed off down
printed Taman Shud, meaning “ended” from the The Rubaiyat of
the main path to be met by their guide in a black hooded cape
Omar Khayyam. Later the book from which this piece of paper
which swept the ground.
had been torn was discovered and the mystery deepened,
The West Terrace Cemetery is the oldest continuously operating graveyard in Australia and is the resting place of
as written within it, was a code which, to this day, has never been solved.
such people as Percy Grainger, Australian-born composer,
Thus ended a most interesting tour. Well almost, as the guide
arranger and pianist who died in 1962 after what was, at
had one more piece of information for the group. There are
times, a salacious life. The tour included “addresses” from
still spaces available in West Terrace cemetery if you would
some of the residents such as the first superintendent of the
like to consider this as your final resting place! (Report
cemetery and a young female murder victim. Other stories
provided by Ed McAlister)
included that of an unfortunate circus performer whose task it was to work with an extremely dangerous tiger; he paid the
This is just one example of the interesting and entertaining
ultimate price.
events organised by the South Australian Chapter of the UNE
The group’s final stop was at the grave of the “Somerton Man”.
through their FaceBook page (SACUNE), or by emailing the
A “senior detective”, obviously well versed in the case and
President, Wendy DiMonte: wdimonte@stpeters.sa.edu.au
Alumni Association (SACUNE).The group may be contacted
wearing a hat and typical 1940’s clothing, told the story of the
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Office of Advancement Ground Floor TC Lamble Building University of New England Armidale NSW 2351 P: 02 6773 2870 alumni.une.edu.au Publication Information Published by the University of New England ABN 75 792 454 315 Published May 2015 ISSN 2203-8000 If you would like to contribute to future editions of 'Unique’ we would love to hear from you!
une.edu.au