Site Navigation
Issue 20 - Friday 17 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 07 3623 7491
- Spring graduation celebration
- First graduates in Higher Ed
- Teaching awards for excellence
- Celebration of 15 years service
- Students star at uni games
- Social Justice Sunday at Strathfield
- Woodworkers donate for education
- Federal Treasurer welcomes expansion
- Sacred music festival
- Japan’s Consul-General to Sydney to speak
- World economic crises explored
- Forum on anti-terrorism laws
- Professor of Ageing shares expertise in China, Denmark and Canada
- Educating teens on healthy eating options
- ACU Economics lecturers provide support for disadvantaged students
- Stand up for poverty
- Romance of Song
- Visionary art on display in Brisbane
- New research manager commences
- New acunique focuses on the nature and value of a Catholic university
- ACU Marathon Team
Spring graduation celebration
The Spring Graduation ceremony was held for all three faculties at the State Theatre on Wednesday 8 October.
The ceremony saw more than 160 graduates receive their awards, including the tenth student to complete the Clemente program.
Mr Terry O'Connell OAM was awarded the University's highest honour, Doctor of the University (honoris causa), for his service to the Australian and international community, particularly through his work in restorative justice.
Over 450 students from all campuses graduated In Absentia through the ceremony.
Dr Terry O'Connell OAM with his family following the ceremony
Dr O'Connell presented his award by Chancellor Julian McDonald AO
First graduates in Higher Ed
The Spring Graduation ceremony also saw nine ACU academic and general staff from the Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and North Sydney Campuses cross the stage as the first graduates of the Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, which was introduced in 2006.
The course was developed as a way to formalise tertiary level teaching qualifications and help staff to better understand and enhance the learning experience of students.
School of Business and Informatics (VIC) lecturer Dr Elsie Chan, who travelled to Sydney to attend the ceremony, said the two year course was flexible in its structure, although the work and study balance was quite a challenge.
“The assignments and online discussions were very time intensive, but it was a great chance to get to know staff members in other campuses and disciplines and it really helped me in my role as a lecturer. It was a good personal investment. Thanks also go to the Faculty Dean and Head of School in supporting my study” she said.
Higher Education graduates Michael Foley, Elsie Chan and Jan Seruga at the Spring Graduation ceremony
Teaching awards for excellence
Around 50 family and friends gathered at the Clancy Building on the Strathfield Campus (Mount Saint Mary) for the presentation of the Primary Pre-Service Teacher Awards for Excellence in Science Education, awarded by the Department of Education, Science and Training on 9 October.
The awards were presented by Councillor Keith Kwon, Mayor of Strathfield and Ms Anna Davis, President of the Science Teachers' Association of NSW.
Student award winners with NSW School of Education staff - Associate Professor Marea Nicholson, Dr Julie Clark and Ms Anne Forbes, Councillor Kwon and Ms Anna Davis
Celebration of 15 years service
The Brisbane Campus (McAuley at Banyo) celebrated 15 years service of six staff members with a morning tea on Wednesday 8 October.
Associate Nasir Butrous, Evan Harris, Carolyn Toonen, Cheryl Rasmussen, Barbara Adamson and Dr Greg Munro were thanked for their contribution to the University by Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Quality and Engagement) Professor O’Gorman, who reminded the staff body that the constant nature of some staff is an important part of the culture of any workplace.
Students star at uni games
ACU achieved fantastic results at the 2008 Australian University Games held in recently in Melbourne.
More than 7,000 university students participated in the games, including nearly 100 ACU representatives, making it the largest games ever held.
ACU teams stood their ground against the larger universities wining medals in Australian Rules and touch football.
Individual medal performances came from Scott Dowsing, Lisa Stanton-Smith, Marcio Dos Santos, Thomas O’Shaughnessy in Athletics; Teresa Branca in Taekwondo; and Tara Arnold in swimming; while Krystal McCuskey and Megan Mail were named in the Green and Gold team for Australian Rules.
For information and photos of the games visit www.acu.edu.au/sport
Students interested in participating in the 2009 University Games should contact National Sport and Recreation Officer Mr Mark Young on mark.young@acu.edu.au or 07 3623 7479.
ACU team members with students from Charles Sturt
ACU students with athletes from Southern Cross University
ACU’s men’s Australian Rules Football team
Social Justice Sunday at Strathfield
The Strathfield Campus (Mount Saint Mary) launched the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Social Justice Sunday Statement, A Rich Young Nation: the Challenge of Affluence and Poverty in Australia, in late September.
Mission Engagement staff Lisa Boys and Colleen Malone coordinated a dedicated social justice-themed Mass, celebrated by the Columban Mission Institute’s Fr Reg Howard with St Vincent de Paul Society senior researcher Dr Andy Marks delivering the key address.
Dr Marks spoke passionately about the human face of poverty in Australia and critiqued our governments’ attempts to solve complex social problems with the “superficial provision of cash solutions”.
He presented some staggering statistics on poverty in Australia, affirmed the important and inseparable role that charity and justice play in addressing such social problems and implored us to “start asking the right questions of ourselves and of society in general.”
Following Mass, student Daniel Nelson led a discussion on issues relating to poverty and affluence in our country, by asking the question, “What sort of community do we want to live in?”
Please contact missionengagement.msn@acu.edu.au for the full text of Dr Marks’ speech.
Augustino Dut, Vanessa Forcella, Dr Andy Marks, Daniel Nelson, Youssef Taouk, Santino Bol Wek and Melissa Cameron with copies of the Social Justice Sunday Statement.
Woodworkers donate for education
It was child’s play at the Ballarat Campus (Aquinas) when the new Early Childhood Learning room was launched on Friday 19 September.
A plaque was unveiled at the morning tea, hosted by School of Education, to acknowledge the Ballarat Wood Workers Guild kind donation of wooden toys to the new Early Childhood Learning room.
The toys donated will be used by Bachelor of Education Early Childhood and Primary pre-service teachers, staff and children in early learning communities operating in the early learning room at the campus.
Ballarat Campus (Aquinas) Rector Associate Professor Anne Hunt with Education staff and Ballarat Woodworkers Guild Members
Federal Treasurer welcomes expansion
Federal Treasurer and local member Mr Wayne Swan MP toured the Brisbane Campus (McAuley at Banyo) on Monday 6 October.
Following the announcement of additional Commonwealth-supported places in nursing and early childhood for 2009, Mr Swan took the opportunity so speak with Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Quality and Engagement) Professor John O’Gorman and Head of School’s Dr Lindsay Farrell, Ms Paula Schulz and Dr Judith Mulholland.
Mr Swan also inspected the progress of the new Health Sciences building, which will house additional facilities and labs for nursing and midwifery in 2009.
Mr Swan with Paula Schulz, Karen Downes and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Quality and Engagement) Professor John O’Gorman and the SIM man
Mr Swan speaks with Professor O’Gorman
Sacred music festival
The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) will hold its 54th Annual International Festival of Sacred Music in January 2009.
The festival includes workshops for choristers, cantors, organists, composers and conductors, as well as a singing course for young people.
The Brisbane Campus (McAuley at Banyo) Choir and the Brisbane Catholic Cathedral are supporting the festival by coordinating the summer school course.
For more information visit www.rscm.com.au/events/IFSM/IFSM.html
Japan’s Consul-General to Sydney to speak
Sydney Consul-General of Japan, Mr Nobuhito Hobo, will deliver an address entitled Japan and Australia relationships in a ‘turbulent’ era at the Strathfield Campus (Mount Saint Mary) on Friday 17 October.
Mr Hobo has served in a wide range of fields within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has been posted to several countries included Indonesia, Bangladesh and the UK. He has held his current position in Sydney since October 2007.
Mr Hobo will share his thoughts on Australia’s economic diversity in the context of the Australia-Japan bilateral relationship in a rapidly changing and ‘turbulent’ era.
The School of Arts and Sciences (NSW) invites staff, students and friends of ACU to attend the address, to be held in Room TS.02 at 12 noon.
World economic crises explored
School of Arts and Sciences (Victoria) lecturer Dr Noah Riseman spoke recently on the current global economic crisis and its impact on Australian and the world, as a guest on RRR radio program The Party Show.
Dr Riseman featured on the program with crikey.com.au founder Stephen Mayne and economist Tom Elliot.
Dr Riseman, who also lectures in United States and Contemporary Global History, discussed the impact of the economic crisis on the upcoming presidential and Congressional elections in the United States.
Drawing parallels and differences with the Australian electoral system, he explained why there were divisions within the political parties in Congress, while emphasising that, although the economic crisis is indeed affecting the presidential race, the outcome of the Congressional elections is far more important in terms of setting a future agenda for economic policy.
Dr Riseman also recently won the Australian and New Zealand American Studies Association Peter Coleman prize, which is awarded for the best article by a postgraduate student published in the Australasian Journal of American Studies.
Forum on anti-terrorism laws
Respected solicitors Julian Burnside QC and Phoebe Knowles delivered key addresses at a forum questioning How have the Anti-terrorism laws impacted on human rights in Australia at the Melbourne Campus (St. Patrick’s) last month.
The audience at the forum, coordinated by ACU’s Institute of Legal Studies and the Students for Awareness, were treated to engaging addresses and robust discussion on the topic.
The event was catered for by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
Professor Spencer Zifcak, Phoebe Knowles, Julian Burnside QC. Professor Gabrielle McMullin, Mathew Crane (ACUSA student), Sarah Rose (ACUSA student)
Professor of Ageing shares expertise in China, Denmark and Canada
A recent speech delivered in Shanghai, China by ACU and RSL LifeCare Professor of Ageing Professor Tracey McDonald has sparked considerable positive comment and debate around issues of the care of older people in China, among government, the media, international scholars and the Chinese public.
Professor McDonald’s key participation in the recent 2008 International Conference on the Development of Old Age Programs, Shanghai, China followed her speech in 2006 at a similar international conference hosted to examine development of national policy to address China’s rapidly ageing population.
Participants included representatives from the World Health Organisation, the International Institute on Ageing, United Nations, the European Center of Gerontology and 22 countries.
Speakers were drawn from government, academe, industry and non-government organisations and all presented an overview of old age programs in their countries and some suggestions for consideration about lessons learned from their experiences.
Professor McDonald’s presentation and comments as part of the final expert panel were reported widely in the Chinese media and she has been asked to further develop her ideas and suggestions for publication in China.
This week Professor McDonald will travel to Denmark where she has been invited to discuss the care of elderly patients in hospitals, and she will shortly visit Canada where her views on the care of older people in emergency rooms have been sought.
International speakers including Professor McDonald (fourth from right)
Educating teens on healthy eating options
Education and nursing student on the Ballarat Campus (Aquinas) have developed and facilitated an education program for more than forty year 8, 9 and 10 students to combat unhealthy eating habits and lifestyle choices in teens in collaboration with The Smith Family Ballarat’s Learning for Life program.
The one day program, titled What’s in it?, focuses on the nutritional value of food, the underlying science behind food, the interactions between food intake and exercise and the relationship between nutrition and body image.
Arts and Sciences lecturer Beatrice Johnson said the program, which ran in late September, aimed to motivate teenagers to think about the nutritional value of food and exercise.
“Unfortunately our society encourages less exercise in teenagers and the easy option of fast food, which can lead to the development of nutritionally related disease,” Ms Johnson said. “Through this program we want to give teenagers the knowledge to think about how they can maintain a healthy diet by considering the nutritional value of food that underlies good health.”
The Smith Family’s Julia White said that the program was a great example of a tertiary institution working together with a non-profit, community based organization to promote healthy eating and lifestyle choices to children and young people.
Ballarat Campus (Aquinas) education and nursing students who led the What’s in it? program
ACU Economics lecturers provide support for disadvantaged students
Economics lecturers Dr Tony Stokes and Dr Sarah Wright provided a special HSC Economics revision program during the school holidays.
Students from the Western Suburbs of Sydney were especially targeted following research by Dr Wright which showed that students from these lower socio-economic areas were less likely to attend university.
Dr Stokes, who was one of the co-writers of the HSC Economics syllabus in NSW, gave a talk on the current state of the Australian economy in this time of global financial crisis.
This was followed by a question and answer session where Dr Wright spoke about the effects of the current industrial relations policies on working conditions, productivity, income inequality and family life in Australia.
The Good Universities Guide 2009 reported ACU as one of only three universities in Australia with the highest graduate rankings for teaching quality, generic skills and overall satisfaction in the field of Economics.
Stand up for poverty
Staff and students on the Brisbane Campus (McAuley at Banyo) will attempt to set a Guinness Book of Records as they ‘Stand Up’ against poverty across the world on Friday 17 October.
An initiative of the campus’ Make Poverty History (MPH) group, the event will last the entire day, with the aim to set the record for the largest crowd to stand for a cause.
Participants are invited to sign their name on the MPH banner and be counted as part of the record attempt outside I Block, and are only required for a few minutes.
Please contact Michael Wale on michael_wale4@hotmail.com for further information.
Romance of Song
The School of Arts and Sciences (VIC) is hosting a performance by the Australian Catholic University Choir at the Melbourne Campus (St. Patrick’s), titled Romance of Song, on Friday 24 October.
The Choir, who will be conducted by Andrew Wailes, will present a recital of sacred and secular music by Romantic composers including Faure, Bruckner, Reger, Brahms and Franck.
The performance will feature Rhys Boak on organ and piano, with vocal and instrumental soloists from ACU. The performance will be held in Central Hall, at 20-22 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy from 8pm.
For ticket and other information please contact (03) 9953 3242.
Visionary art on display in Brisbane
The Brisbane Campus (McCauley at Banyo) recently hosted an art exhibition entitled Rejoice, showcasing a range of works from local Visionaries artists. The exhibition included sculptures, photographs and paintings embodying the themes of redemption, forgiveness and divine love.
The faith–centred pieces created an atmosphere of joy which was further maintained on opening night through the ethereal sounds the ACU choir.
Visionaries’ organiser Geraldine Wheeler shared with guests her belief that the message of the exhibition was the need for faith at all times. The efforts of Dr.Lindsay Farrell, Tina Effeney, Lois Keates and Jewel Sagar in organising the event were appreciated by all.
Geraldine Wheeler (left) with artists on the opening night of the Rejoice exhibition
New research manager commences
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and International) Professor Peter Wilson has welcomed the appointment of Ms Pauline Collins in the position as Acting Manager of Research Services, based at the Melbourne Campus (St. Patrick’s).
Ms Collins most recently held a similar role within the School of Physiotherapy at the University of Melbourne.
New acunique focuses on the nature and value of a Catholic university
The nature and value of a Catholic university are explored in depth in ACU's latest acunique magazine, acunique 10, Seeking Truth, Adding Value.
In it, former Victorian Governor Sir James Gobbo says the University's contributions to "informed debate" and meeting current social challenges are highly relevant, as well as its traditional activities in health, education and the arts.
A number of leaders of the religious orders which formed the University comment, and there are also articles on the Mission, Indigenous spirituality, the University's international contributions, work in interfaith relations and the environment, and much more.
To view the magazine in full visit www.acu.edu.au/acunique
ACU Marathon Team
Congratulations to all members of the inaugural ACU Melbourne Marathon Team who tested their endurance on Sunday 12 October.
The University was well represented, entering teams in the 10km, Half-Marathon and Marathon events. Everyone gave their all in very trying conditions.
Anyone interested in joining the ACU running squad can contact simon.rice@acu.edu.au
Kerri Thomas & Simon Rice smiling after the marathon
