Issue 20 - Wednesday 10 October

ACU Update is produced fortnightly for staff, students and friends of Australian Catholic University (ACU). To submit a news article or event, please email editor@acu.edu.au or call 02 9739 2514.

• Rino Grollo receives honorary doctorate
• Five-star focus for Spring issue of acunique
• Industry partnerships in exercise science
• Gen Y book receives wide media interest
• ACU appoints inaugural Chair of Law
• 2007 Outstanding Community Engagement Award winners announced
• Roadtrip Nation
• Strong increase in enrolments in postgraduate theology
• Bouquets for Professor Shurlee Swain
• Students together at ACU Alive and on air
• Staff invited to retreat
• Ballarat student finalist in Rural Ambassador Award
• Future students visit Brisbane Campus
• Reconciliation artwork hung at Strathfield Campus
• Rosegarden seminar explores theory and practice in social work
• Picture book writer and illustrator at the Canberra Campus
• Sufi Sheikh poet discussed on national radio
• Performance to explore the importance of families
• Young Indigenous people speak out
• Exhibition on icons and iconographers
• Upcoming Events

Rino Grollo receives honorary doctorate

Melbourne-based property developer, humanitarian and prominent Italian-Australian Rino Grollo was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University’s Spring graduation ceremony in Sydney last week.

ACU Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Sheehan AO said Mr Grollo had demonstrated an exemplary balance between business success, devotion to faith and family, charitable giving and community involvement in a career spanning four decades:

“Rino Grollo has experienced outstanding success as Chairman of the Grollo Group, one of Australia’s most innovative building companies and is a proud Italian-Australian and a strong advocate of the Italian contribution to modern Australia.”

“Rino and his wife Diana are passionate humanitarians and have lent their commitment to the support of a number of important causes. These range from health services and the arts to the Australian Winter Olympics movement and the Catholic Church. An extraordinary number of Australians have actually benefited from the generosity of the Grollo family without knowing of their sponsorship” Professor Sheehan continued.

More than 140 students from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Faculty of Education and Faculty of Health Sciences, including a cohort from New Zealand, graduated at the ceremony at Sydney Town Hall.

Mr Grollo told graduates that “Australia needs young leaders like you who can have an influence on social justice and the common good… have trust in your own ability and do not lower your expectations. Make time for yourself, your family, your work and your community and remember, money cannot buy trust or respect, nor happiness nor love. You have to earn these things….My word for you today is – coraggio (courage). Remember that word every time life gets a bit difficult. Coraggio!”

Rino Grollo

Five-star focus for Spring issue of acunique

ACU’s award-winning and widely-recognised quality learning outcomes are showcased in the latest acunique magazine, nurturing excellence.

A number of the University’s distinctive courses, academics, graduates and students are featured, including the Teaching and Learning Consortium (TLC). Through the TLC, education students gain a broad overview of teaching styles and current challenges and opportunities in primary teaching, while contributing their time and skills to particular projects in each partner school.

Print copies of acunique have been despatched to Campus Operations on each campus for distribution. An online version of acunique is also available at ttp://inet.acu.edu.au/acunique/.

The School of Education (NSW) team involved in the TLC is pictured above receiving a 2007 Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning from Carrick Institute Director Professor Richard Johnstone (right). Team members include Lecturer Mr Ed Lewis (left), Senior Lecturer Dr Sandi Carroll, Assistant Head of School Dr Paul White, Senior Lecturer Dr Jan Long and Senior Lecturer Ms Wendy Moran.

Industry partnerships in exercise science

In 2007, the School of Exercise Science (NSW) formed a partnership with industry organisations to enhance both the field/industry experience for students and the business of the organisations. Some 12 organisations agreed to participate in the program which accommodated up to 100 students under a structured program commensurate with the skills and abilities of the students. The industry organisation provided a supervisor for the program of student activities and assisted in the evaluation of the placement.

On 8 October, a forum for first and second year students was held to inform students about opportunities for industry experience placements in 2008 and an ACU plaque was presented to representatives from the seven organisations in appreciation of their support in 2007.

Pictured (left to right) at the recent forum are Exercise Science staff and partner representatives Helen Lowe (Women's Sport and Recreation), Mark Roach (Duke of Edinburgh Award) Bob Sim (NSW Basketball), (Rugby NSW), Rod Leonard (Police and Citizens Youth Clubs), Carly Watson (NSW Institute of Sport) Michael Cunico (Fitness First) Stephen Chipps (Campleaders USA), Gareth Watkins (Active After-School Communities Program), Miguel Andrade (NSW Sport and Recreation), Assistant Head of School Ross Smith,  Darren Peters (Australian Paralympics Committee) and Exercise Science Industry Experience Coordinator Kerrie Basclain.

Gen Y book receives wide media interest

A new book, The Spirit of Generation Y: Young People's Spirituality in a Changing, Australia, by ACU’s Institute for the Advancement of Research research fellow Dr Michael Mason and the University’s Quality of Life and Social Justice Flagship director Associate Professor Ruth Webber and Monash University academic Dr Andrew Singleton, has received wide media attention.

The book, launched recently at the Melbourne Campus (St Patrick’s) by Archbishop Sir Frank Little, and published by John Garratt Publications, Melbourne, explores the views and actions of people born between 1981 and 1995, including individualism, consumerism and good citizenship.

Professor Webber believes the book, based on about 100 interviews and a large-scale national survey, has significant implications for the work of the churches and other agencies in education and youth ministry.

ACU appoints inaugural Chair of Law

Associate Professor Spencer Zifcak has been welcomed to the recently established position of The Allan Myers Chair of Law and Director of the Institute of Legal Studies.

“I congratulate Dr Zifcak on his appointment and look forward to the ongoing development of specialist inter-disciplinary postgraduate programs and research in legal studies to meet the needs of the legal and wider community,” said Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Sheehan AO.

Dr Zifcak will join ACU in late February 2008 from La Trobe University, where he currently holds the position of Associate Professor in the School of Law. Dr Zifcak has a strong background in Australian constitutional law, international law, human rights law, administrative law and criminal law and has just completed a Visiting Fellowship with the Faculty of Law at Trinity College, Dublin. He has also had significant international experience as a Visiting Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford University, and as a Visiting Professor at the UNESCO Centre for Human Rights Education, Bratislava, Slovakia.

The Allan Myers Chair of Law will initially be funded for a period of five years through the generous support of eminent lawyer Mr Allan Myers. ACU’s Institute of Legal Studies offers postgraduate programs in education law and human rights. Courses are taught by the Institute’s academic staff and by expert guest lecturers.

Dr Spencer Zifcak

2007 Outstanding Community Engagement Award winners announced

Brisbane Campus (McAuley at Banyo) School of Arts and Sciences Head Dr Lindsay Farrell has been awarded the 2007 Outstanding Community Engagement Award for staff, while Melbourne Campus (St Patrick's) first-year social science student Coni Forcey has received the inaugural award for students.

“Dr Farrell has demonstrated enourmous creative energy in his activities that use art to engage with many diverse groups in the community,” said Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Sheehan AO. “Importantly, his work has been reciprocal, enriching the University community while engaging with the broader community” including the Prison Fellowship, Indigenous art exhibitions, international aid development programs, refugees, ACU All Arts, and Art Practice.

Coni’s application showed broad scope and a clear focus on the environment, including forming the Bayside Climate Change Action Group and her engagement with government, business, the local council, community groups and local residents.

Dr Lindsay Farrell

Roadtrip Nation

SBS and Iris Pictures, with Roadtrip Nation Productions are currently looking for students to participate in a five week roadtrip around Australia, interviewing inspiring people about how they got to where they are in life.

Selected students will travel around Australia in January for five weeks with all expenses covered. They will be able to decide on who they want to interview around Australia and this will determine their trip.

It is a great opportunity for students who are unsure of their career path to connect with inspirational people who have defined their own roads in life.

Roadtrip Nation will be aired next year on SBS as well as in the USA.

Apply online at www.roadtripnation.com/apply by Sunday 14 October.

Strong increase in enrolments in postgraduate theology

ACU and the Forum of Australian Catholic Institutes of Theology (FACIT) Taskforce have announced a surge in postgraduate theology course enrolments in the past decade.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs) Professor Gabrielle McMullen said the results were encouraging and indicated the relevance of theological studies to contemporary Australia. The report identified that the combined degree Bachelor of Theology/Bachelor of Social Work is increasing in popularity at an undergraduate level, with the Doctor of Philosophy particularly showing growth at a postgraduate level.

FACIT member institutions include ACU, Broken Bay Institute, Catholic Institute of Sydney, Catholic Theological College Melbourne, Catholic Theological College of South Australia, Jesuit Theological College, John Paul II Institute of Marriage and the Family, St Paul’s Theological College, University of Notre Dame Australia and Yarra Theological Union.

Bouquets for Professor Shurlee Swain

School of Arts and Sciences reader Professor Shurlee Swain has been elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. “This is fitting and well-deserved recognition of her standing and many contributions as a distinguished researcher and scholar,” said Arts and Sciences Dean Professor Gail Crossley.

The news came as Professor Swain obtained an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grant to research the early history of the Family Court of Australia, with University of Melbourne academic Ms Helen Rhoades. A total of $350,000 has been awarded over three years.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and International) Professor Peter Wilson congratulated Professor Swain, while expressing his strong support for other staff who applied but were unsuccessful in this year’s round of funding. “I know how much effort goes into these grant applications, and it is disappointing when the proposed research does not gain funding,” Professor Wilson said. “I ask you please not to give up! Often people gain grants on the second or third application, and the feedback form reviewers may be quite useful in helping to shape the grant towards a positive result in a subsequent round. Anyone who would like to receive some assistance in working towards a revised application is welcome to contact the Research Office with a request for support to assist you in that process.”

Students together at ACU Alive and on air

Students from all campuses recently met at the Strathfield Campus (Mount Saint Mary) to take part in ACU Alive, a four-day program showcasing cultural talents, culminating in a collaborative public performance for which entry fees were donated to East Timor’s graduate teachers’ program.

During ACU Alive the University radio station ACU Wired was officially launched by Chancellor Brother Julian McDonald CFC AO is now being played in common rooms and cafeterias at all campuses, with an online broadcast expected from next year.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Sheehan AO welcomed the launch. “Through radio, we can link our various campuses together and profile them for other audiences, both national and international,” Professor Sheehan said. “Through our radio programs we can learn what others do across our various campuses and publicise our activities outside our own network to involve others and to facilitate their involvement in what we do. I see wonderful opportunities for people listening in and learning to share our experiences and for those in other countries to become interested in our University and want to be part of it. I see it also as a wonderful way of exchanging ideas on all sorts of contemporary issues, social and artistic.”

ACU Alive also provided a brief reunion for some past presidents of the student association. Pictured are Brisbane Campus (McAuley at  Banyo) president of 2005 Shawn Walker (back, left), and Strathfield Campus (Mount Saint Mary) past presidents, Simone Maciel (2004), Adrian Pulley (2006), Nicky Alsemgeest (1996 ) (front, left), mission engagement manager Anne Ferguson and president Sara Cincotta (2005).

Staff invited to retreat

Staff from the North Sydney (MacKillop), Strathfield (Mount Saint Mary) and Canberra (Signadou) Campuses are invited to reflect and relax together at the 2007 staff retreat, Walking the labyrinth for healing and transformation, at The Hermitage in Mittagong, from 28 to 30 November.

There will be a program of guided reflections using the labyrinth and some free time for socialising and relaxing. The cost of $160 includes all meals, retreat materials and accommodation for two nights.

For more information and to book, please contact Canberra Campus mission engagement facilitator Liz Anne Smith at elizabeth.smith@acu.edu.au or on (02) 6209 1150.

Ballarat student finalist in Rural Ambassador Award

Fourth year education student Karen Langelaan from the Ballarat Campus (Aquinas), of Bunyip in Victoria, has achieved the honour of being a Victorian Rural Ambassador Award finalist.

The award, organised by Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria and Victorian Agricultural Shows Limited, highlights the importance of youth in rural Victoria and aims to identify and encourage enthusiastic, skilful and industrious young people.

Although she did not win this year, Karen was strongly encouraged to participate next year, and says that becoming a finalist is a great privilege. “It was a very rewarding experience, and having already won at a local and regional level is really encouraging,” Karen said. While studying, Karen works part-time at an after-school care facility in Ballarat, and is also a member of “Young Vinnies”, part of the St Vincent de Paul Society.

Future students visit Brisbane Campus

The Brisbane Campus (McAuley at Banyo) played host to over two hundred high school students last month, as the annual Arts Enrichment Program and Student Nurse for a Day events were held.

The Arts Enrichment program attracted students from as far away as Mt Isa and Emerald to participate in the two-day event. This years program was based on the theme of 'homelessness', as students worked with lecturers to develop a collage drama, an original song and associated hypermedia, which culminated in a performance for family and friends at the conclusion of the program.

The Student Nurse for a Day program drew high school students from across South Easth Queensland interested in studying nursing at a tertiary level, and gave them an opportunity to sample life as a university student.


Christine Merritt from St Mary's Catholic College (Ipswich) with Ferny Grove State High School's Tegan Pound and Kahlia Wood

Reconciliation artwork hung at Strathfield Campus

Arts and technology students at the Strathfield Campus (Mount Saint Mary) have created a Hearts and Hands for Reconciliation 1967–2007 artwork to celebrate 40 years of reconciliation.

This textile art piece was created with gloves donated by staff and students who wanted to demonstrate their recognition of and support for Australia’s traditional land custodians.

Project organiser technology lecturer Dr Louise Duvernet said the aim was to build meaningful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and that each Australian had a role to play in working “side by side with others for the benefit of the nation, socially and economically”.

Rosegarden seminar explores theory and practice in social work

Social work honours student Elise Woodman will speak on Linking Social Work Theory to Practice in the Field of Health at the Canberra Campus (Signadou) on Monday 15 October from 5pm to 6pm in room S3.

Elise’s honours research explored the importance of theoretical knowledge and the relationship between theory and practice for social workers working in the field of health in the ACT and surrounding NSW.

Her study explored the importance of theoretical knowledge for these social workers; what theories informed their practice and the ways in which they did so; the extent to which social workers consciously engaged with their theoretical knowledge base; and the challenges to utilising this knowledge in the field of health.

Rosegarden seminars are a joint venture between the School of Social Work and the ACT Branch of the Australian Association of Social Workers and ACT Health. A gold coin donation is requested for drinks and nibbles. All social workers are welcome.

For more information and to book, please contact Gabrielle Culhane at gabrielle.culhane@acu.edu.au or on (02) 62091149.

Picture book writer and illustrator at the Canberra Campus

The Canberra Campus (Signadou) recently welcomed celebrated author Nadia Wheatley and popular illustrator Andrew McLean during a creative reading and writing seminar, part of the local Words, Pictures, Book exhibition and series of events.

The seminar, open to students, academics and teachers, provided rare behind-the-scenes insights into creating children’s picture books.

Nadia enthralled the audience with stories of her childhood and its influence on her decision to become a writer. She spoke of her fascination for the connection between the oral story and the written word, and described the creative process behind several of her books including Going Bush which showcases the stories and illustrations of participating primary school students, linked together with narrative by Nadia, and art design by Ken Searle Going Bush was conceived as part of a Harmony project developed by Nadia and Ken in collaboration with several Sydney schools.

Andrew demonstrated to the audience his techniques for creating the image of several characters for Highway, and together with Nadia, discussed the benefits of collaboration between the author and the illustrator in developing a picture book.

“I like drawing for young children” said Andrew, who uses ink, coloured pencils, pastels, water-colour and gouache to create his illustrations. “I am attracted to the simplicity, honesty and directness of picture books. Simplicity requires a lot of hard work. I like developing the characters and using movement, gesture and facial expression to convey feeling.”

Andrew McLean and Nadia Wheatley

Sufi Sheikh poet discussed on national radio

School of Education (NSW) senior lecturer Dr Ross Keating will feature on ABC Radio National’s program The Ark tonight at 8.35pm in a repeat broadcast about the poet Francis Brabazon, on whom Dr Keating wrote his doctoral thesis. A poet, artist and spiritual seeker, Brabazon became a Sufi Sheikh and lived most of his life in Australia.

Visit http://www.abc.net.au/rn/ark/stories/2007/2049671.htm for more information on the program or to download a recording of the interview.

Performance to explore the importance of families

Catalyst/Clemente program students who are homeless and marginalised will share poems and stories in a performance, Kin, on Wednesday 17 October at 6pm in the drama studio at the Brisbane Campus (McAuley at Banyo).

“The performance is an exploration and reflection about those we consider to be our family,” said drama lecturer and academic co-ordinator Dr Tracey Sanders. “This group has come such a long way from the beginning of the program. Nerves and anxiety have given way to beautiful interpretations of their lives and relationships and I am very proud of what they have achieved. The University community is most warmly invited to share the evening with us, followed by a light supper afterwards.”

The Clemente Catalyst program is coordinated by ACU’s Institute for Advancing Community Engagement in collaboration with Mission Australia and other organisations and volunteers. The program was featured on ABC TV’s 7.30 Report in June. To view online, please visit http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2007/s1971163.htm

Young Indigenous people speak out

Researchers from ACU’s Institute of Child Protection Studies recently interviewed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people about what life is like when they live away from home - with foster carers, relatives and in residential programs.

In these consultations, young people stressed the importance of maintaining links with their culture and their families, the need to involve young people in decision making and the benefits of organisations working with each other and the local community to respond to families during difficult periods.

The project has greatly benefited from the involvement of Aboriginal youth leaders. They include Canberra Campus (Signadou) social work student Chelsea Yarrie, as well as Greg Ryan, Saul Sambono and Jad King, and project officer, Bindi Bennett who worked with research fellow Tim Moore and Institute director Morag McArthur to facilitate traditional art, music and interactive workshops in Canberra and Wreck Bay.

Institute staff took part in a cultural gathering to celebrate the young people’s contribution to the project and the strengths within the local community. A hip-hop song written by participants in the project and edited by project partners Metaphysical Productions was played, and Indigenous musicians Emma Donovan, Nick Carter and Dale Huddleston entertained the crowd.

Exhibition on icons and iconographers

An exhibition of the work of six leading contemporary icon painters has opened at the Strathfield Campus at the ACU Gallery, accessed from Gate 3, 25A Barker Rd, Strathfield.

The exhibition will run from 11am to 4pm Monday to Saturday until Saturday 27 October.

Upcoming Events

• Monday 15 October - Rosegarden seminar - Linking social work theory to practice in the field of health (Canberra)
• Wednesday 17 October - Performance Kin by Catalyst/Clamente program students (Brisbane)
• Saturday 20 October – Sunday 21 October - Dealing with diversity conference
• Tuesday 23 October - Aquinas lecture (Brisbane)
• Thursday 1 November - public lecture (Melbourne)
• Wednesday 28 November - Friday 30 November - 2007 staff retreat - Walking the labyrinth for healing and transformation
  

Details on these and other upcoming events can be found at www.acu.edu.au/events

Promote your event by listing it on the myACU events section and by emailing details to editor@acu.edu.au.