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Issue 11 - Friday 13 June

ACU National Update is produced fortnightly for staff, students and friends of Australian Catholic University (ACU National). To submit a news article or event, please email editor@acu.edu.au or call 07 3623 7491

New Bachelor of Nursing in Canberra

The Canberra Campus (Signadou) has announced the introduction of a three-year Bachelor of Nursing program commencing in 2009 which will significantly boost the number of registered nurses in the region.

Until now, the Signadou Campus offered the final two years of a standard three-year Bachelor of Nursing with special admission available for enrolled nurses. The first cohort of students commenced at the University 2007 after completing a bridging program run through the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT).

The new three-year Bachelor of Nursing will provide prospective students the opportunity to enter straight from year 12 or as a mature age student into the first year of an undergraduate degree.

Dean of Faculty of Health Sciences Professor Pauline Nugent said she was delighted to see the introduction of a first year to the existing program. “It is our hope that by offering the three-year degree we will be working toward addressing the shortage of nurses in the region,” said Professor Nugent.

Professor Peter Camilleri, Rector of Canberra Campus, expressed his gratitude to the local health sector. “The introduction of the three-year nursing program has been an outcome of strong collaboration between the University and ACT Department of Health,” said Professor Camilleri. “We are excited about this opportunity to provide the sector with high quality nursing graduates in the near future.”

Canberra bachelor nursing Second year nursing student Anneke Schoots is joined by Dean of Faculty of Health Sciences Professor Pauline Nugent

New ILS director hosts inaugural lecture on global law reforms

The Allan Myers Chair of Law and the new Director of Australian Catholic University’s (ACU National) Institute of Legal Studies (ILS) Professor Spencer Zifcak held his inaugural lecture on the global rule of law last week.

In presenting his lecture, Framing a Global Rule of Law, Professor Zifcak set down the fundamental values that he believes should underlie the rule of law globally and proposed reforms to organisations such as the United Nations Security Council and the UN’s new Human Rights Council.  

Professor Zifcak was introduced by his long-time colleague Vice-Chancellor Greg Craven, who admitted that both lawyers share a passion for the Carlton football club.

The lecture was well attended by members of the legal fraternity, including prominent members of Victoria’s judiciary, ILS chair sponsor Allan Myers, and Professor Zifcak’s parents.

Spencer Zifcak ILS Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Craven is joined by ILS Director Professor Spencer Zifcak and ILS Chair sponsor Allan Myers.

World Harmony Run Enlightens Melbourne Campus

Athletes from the World Harmony Run recently visited the Melbourne Campus (St. Patrick’s) as part of the Australian leg of their goodwill run around the world. The runners brought with them the World Harmony Run torch, a symbol of peace and universal harmony between people of different cultures, nationalities and beliefs.

Founded by athlete, philosopher, artist and poet Sri Chinmoy, who believed that sport is a powerful instrument for promoting global harmony, the World Harmony Run flaming torch passes by hand through over 100 countries. This year’s World Harmony Run began in Rome on 27 March 2008 and is now travelling around Australia.

The current runners will be running an incredible distance of over 15,000 kilometres over 111 days.
Exercise Science Associate Professor John Saunders and Community Engagement Coordinator Mary Campbell both welcomed the runners and the torch. State hockey player and ACU National student Corey Joseph accepted the torch on behalf of the School of Exercise Science.

Both ACU National staff and the World Harmony Runners expressed shared beliefs in the need for greater appreciating our shared humanity, the powerful effect of sport to bring people together, and the strong commitment of both organisations to community involvement.

At the event, School of Nursing and Midwifery lecturer Joe Perry was presented with the World Harmony Run Torch Bearer’s award for his service to the community as the coordinator for the Murray-to-Moyne cycle relay team, a race which is over 500 km long and lasts for 24 hours.

Each year, Joe Perry’s efforts have helped raise money for different service projects, and this year the money he is raising is going to help the Medical Centre in Bacau, East Timor.

Please visit www.worldharmonyrun.org/ to track the World Harmony Run.

World Harmony Run World Harmony Run lights up the Melbourne Campus (St. Patrick's)

International Interreligious conference

Associate Professor Gerard Hall accompanied Indigenous elder, ACU National PhD student and Pratt Bursary recipient Aunty Joan Hendriks to an Interreligious Conference on "Mysticism: The Fullness of Life" held at the University Ca Foscari in Venice, Italy from 4 to 8 May.

Associate Professor Hall and Aunty Joan presented a joint paper on "The Natural Mysticism of Indigenous Australian Traditions" at the conference which marked the 90th birthday of Interfaith Scholar Raimon Panikkar.

Following the conference they also took part in the "Spirit of Religion" Project, which involves an ongoing conversation by representatives of Hindu, Zen Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Tao-Confucian, Australian Aboriginal and Guatamalan Mayan Traditions. They were accompanied on the trip by Peter Kirkwood from ABC TV who is currently producing a Compass program on Aunty Joan which will be aired later in the year.

Inter religious conference Aunty Joan Hendriks (left) is joined by Raimon Panikkar and Associate Professor Gerard Hall

ACULink exposes more students to university life

Strathfield Campus (Mount Saint Mary) education students, along with lecturers Miriam Tanti and Matthew Campbell, recently welcomed 200 Year 10 students from disadvantaged backgrounds and their teachers to the campus to find out more about higher education. For many of the students, from six Catholic schools in Parramatta Diocese, it was the first time they had considered attending university.

The visit was part of ACULink, a project which also involves lecturers visiting Year 8 students at their schools to discuss goal setting and career paths, an information booklet for parents, and "shadowing days" in September, when Year 11 students spend a day at ACU National experiencing university life with an education student.

Students who attended were greatly appreciative of the event, with many revealing that it had instilled a belief in them that they possessed the capacity to study at university level.

ACULink ACULink students inspect the Strathfield Campus (Mount Saint Mary)

Students can now AskACU 24/7

A new virtual Student Centre has been launched which is available to current students on a 24 hour, seven day a week basis.

AskACU enables students to receive answers to frequently asked questions online, with new questions able to be submitted at any time.

New questions will then be answered by the Student Centre team within 24 hours.
Visit http://my.acu.edu.au/askacu to access the service. 

AskACU

Art from Inside

Exhibitions of artwork produced by prison inmates will be featured at both the Brisbane (McAuley at Banyo) and Strathfield (Mount Saint Mary) Campuses later this month, with the support of Prison Fellowship Australia.

The Gallery@Strathfield will host the NSW Art from Inside exhibition, Hopes and Fears, from 16 to 28 June, with an opening at 2pm on Saturday 14 June. 

The Brisbane Campus will host the Queensland exhibition from 23 to 27 June, with the opening to be held at 7.30pm on Monday 23 June. Please RSVP to Norton Russell on 3263 3877.
Winning entries in the state exhibitions will be entered into the National Competition to be shown from 7 to 11 July at the Brisbane Campus.

SpiritAlive Fest at Strathfield

As part of activities celebrating World Youth Day 2008 (WYD08), the Mission Engagement team at the Strathfield Campus (Mount Saint Mary) are holding the SpiritAlive Fest on Wednesday 16 July from 12 noon to late in the evening.

Students, staff and friends of the Strathfield Campus are invited to enjoy live music with bands, singers and drummers, artists, actors, jugglers, magicians and a jumping castle.

International students and students who have family history outside Australia are encouraged to attend with their family and friends in their national dress.

Please contact the Strathfield Campus Mission Engagement team to RSVP or for further information.

SpiritAlive Fest

Aquinas students learning through prayer

Third year education students at the Ballarat Campus (Aquinas) have been preparing prayer services for primary school aged children, as part of their Religious Education unit.

The students have held weekly services at the beginning of tutorials throughout semester one in order to gain skills in prayer leadership which they will be able to use during their primary teaching careers.

Students are welcome to meet with Aquinas Mission Engagement facilitator Jo Rix to explore structure, ideas and resources in order to create meaningful, scripture-based prayer services relating to the church seasons or specific themes.

Ballarat prayer Education students from the Ballarat Campus (Aquinas) prepare prayer services

AUQA presentations continue

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Quality and Engagement) Professor John O’Gorman’s presentations will continue throughout June as he visits each campus to speak about the upcoming AUQA audit (taking place on 11-14 August 2008) and the University’s Performance Portfolio throughout June.  They are Professor O’Gorman's third and final round of campus presentations.

Please visit http://www.acu.edu.au/acu_national/about_acu_national/quality/plan-quality/qm/2008_audit/ for further information.

Staff are strongly encouraged to attend one of the presentations listed below:

  • Brisbane: Tuesday 17 June at 10.30am, Lecture Theatre IB.12
  • Ballarat: Wednesday 18 June at 10.30am, Staff room
  • Canberra: Thursday 19 June at 10am, Room S1
  • North Sydney: Tues 24 June 2pm, Council Room
  • Strathfield: Tuesday 24 June 10am, Room TS 01

Literary excellence acknowledge

ACU National Theology lecturer and Director of the Institute of Theology, Philosophy and Religious Education Professor Neil Ormerod has been acknowledged for two of his literary works.

Professor Ormerod received an Honourable Mention in the 2008 Catholic Press Association Awards for his book, Creation, Grace and Redemption.

Identity and Mission in Catholic Agencies, edited by Professor Ormerod, has been described in a recent issue of Kairos Catholic Journal as "an excellent source for personal and group reflection for those engaged in Catholic organisations".

"Not only are Catholic organisations now primarily staffed by lay persons, they are also being led by them," Kairos reviewer Kevin Mark writes. "Such people generally have not had ... lengthy nurturing in Catholic ethos."

The book originated from a colloquium held in Melbourne last year, which was organised by ACU National in partnership with the Australian Catholic Bishops Converence, Catholic Religious Australia, The Catholic Institute of Sydney, Catholic Social Services Australia, and the National Catholic Education Commission.


Combating religious stereotypes

Senior religious education lecturer Associate Professor Kath Engebretson is working with Muslim and Catholic teachers to discuss interfaith education and prepare a teaching resource for schools to combat religious stereotypes.

The project includes the Australian Intercultural Society and Catholic Education Office in Melbourne. Catholic and Muslim schools throughout Australia are expected to be able to obtain the resource, on a CD, by the end of the year.

Unique mentoring program shows the way

A unique mentoring partnership involving Canberra Campus (Signadou) Graduate Diploma of Education Ssecondary) students and the Catholic Education Office (CEO) of Canberra Goulburn has attracted the attention of Victoria University and Teaching Australia.

The weekly two-hour mentoring program, coordinated by School of Education Lecturer Dr Jo Brady RSJ, allows a wide range of curriculum areas to be taught and has multiple benefits. The program was selected for investigation through round table discussions on successful university and school partnerships earlier this month.

Dr Brady said research into the effectiveness of the program has found that new teachers have been “encouraged in their profession in a significant way”. “The mentoring relationship was also found to be beneficial for the mentors, who found they reflected on their teaching experiences more than usual, and that the experience gave them renewed enthusiasm,” Dr Brady said.

Catholic Education Office Canberra and Goulburn deputy director and head of human resources Mark Hogan said the program successfully fulfils a need for educating people who wanted to train as secondary teachers in diverse subject areas to enter Catholic schools in both the ACT and NSW. “It gave us the opportunity to use the talents of quite a few of our senior teachers in different ways, as mentors and course presenters,” Mr Hogan said.

Award for leading lecturers

Nominations are now open for an award which seeks to find the best University lecturer in Australia.

The Lecturer of the Year award is run by www.unijobs.con.au and seeks to provide an opportunity for University staff and students to show their appreciation of their favourite lecturers.

The winning lecturer will be awarded the title of ‘Lecturer of the Year 2008’ and also receive a trip for two to Fiji.

Nominations can be placed online at www.lectureroftheyear.com.au by current Australian University staff and students. Nominations close on 20 November, and winners will be announced in December.

Postgraduate award entries open

Applications are now open for the 2009 General Sir John Monash Foundation Awards.

The General Sir John Monash Awards are Australia’s most prestigious scholarships supporting postgraduate study at the world’s best universities internationally. Award Winners are expected to become leaders of their fields and of the nation.

The Awards are selected on a national basis from young Australians who have outstanding intellect, leadership skills and capability and who are engaged citizens demonstrated by their altruism and community consciousness, with no restrictions on the particular field on study.

Application forms can be found at www.monashawards.org/ with entries closing on 31 August.

Young Leaders find common ground in Human Values

Young people found themselves stretched beyond their comfort zones and inspired and motivated by future possibilities at last weeks Young Muslim Leaders Program.

The conference was hosted by ACU National’s Institute for Advancing Community Engagement (IACE) in collaboration with La Trobe University’s Centre for Dialogue. The event was also supported by the Islamic Council of Victoria.

Nineteen young Muslims from Melbourne joined ACU National students at the four day conference during May in Sydney, which focused on authentic faith-based leadership. The program helped the participants to explore their exercise of leadership as Australians with Islamic faith.

Speakers representing both the Islamic and non-Islamic communities shared their experience and wisdom with the group. They included Catholic Bishop of Parramatta Kevin Manning, founder of the al-Ghazzali Centre for Islamic Sciences and Human Development Imam Afroz Ali, the Islamic Council of NSW’s Nada Roude, national TV current affairs presenter Jeff McMullen, the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry’s Mrs Elsie Heiss and a number of young people, both Islamic and non-Islamic, who have leadership roles in their communities.

Highlights of the conference were visits to the indigenous Catholic Church at La Perouse, the Edmund Rice Centre at Croydon, and the Gallipoli Mosque at Auburn.

Initiative coordinator and IACE research assistant Anthony Steel believes “the Young Muslim Leaders Program is one way the Australian Catholic University is working to find ways to build social cohesion through dialogue and commitment to the universal human values which bind us together first as people, before we are Muslim or Christian or Buddhist; before we are old, middle aged or young; before we are rich or poor”.

Muslim leaders IACE Director Professor Jude Butcher (left) is joined by Bishop Kevin Manning (centre) and Nada Roude (third from right) with program participants

Viral Hepatitis: The Silent Epidemic

On the heels of the World’s First Hepatitis Awareness Week the Ballarat Campus (Aquinas) Faculty of Health Sciences commenced their annual seminar series for health professionals with a lecture on viral Hepatitis on 27 May.  

The lecture was delivered by national hepatology expert Jacquie Richmond, who gave health professionals an insight into regional statistics, the various types of hepatitis, treatment options and global management trends. 

ACU National Assistant Head of Nursing and Midwifery (Vic) Betty McGuinness said the seminar offered tangible benefits to health professionals. “Jacquie’s knowledge of hepatitis gave health professionals the opportunity to hear about new preventative measures and management strategies,” said Ms McGuinness. 

New course offering in Islam

 The Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ Asia-Pacific Centre for Inter-religious Dialogue (APCID) will oversee a new course, a Certificate in the Study of Islam, to commence at the Melbourne Campus (St. Patrick’s) in first semester 2009.

The non-award program open to individuals from all faiths and will comprise four units offered on a part-time basis. It will provide essential knowledge and evaluation of basic Islamic disciplines from a range of mainstream sources, with particular attention to its Scripture, systematic theology, law, spirituality and its traditions of mysticism. 

 The course teaching will be led by the inaugural Fethullah Gülen Chair in the Study of Islam and Muslim-Catholic Relations Professor Ismail Albayrak.

New ‘COW’ servicing Melbourne’s IT needs

 Information Technology (IT) on the Melbourne Campus (St. Patrick’s) has funded a new tool, called Computers on Wheels (COW), designed to provide computers to teaching spaces outside the existing computer laboratories.

The movable COW contains more than 25 Macbook Pro laptops which students can use to access wireless Internet.

Teaching staff on the St. Patrick’s campus who would like further information about the COW are invited to contact IT Client Service Coordinator (Vic) Brian Quirk on brian.quirk@acu.edu.au or 03 9953 333.

Computer on Wheels The new COW (Computers on Wheels) at the Melbourne Campus (St. Patrick’s)

Upcoming Events

  • Monday 30 June – Thursday 2 October – University Experience
  • Tuesday 3 June – Monday 23 June – Quality Audit Presentations
  • Sunday 27 July – Saturday 2 August – Queensland Catholic Education Week

Details on this 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

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