Issue 9 - Monday 19 May
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
- Melbourne celebrates graduates
- Melbourne showcases Fair Trade Fortnight
- Quality student experience explained
- Parents add up the value of mathematics
- Michael McKay’s farewell
- Celebration of midwives
- Annual Report available online
- Melbourne students turn their Voices Up
- Murray to Moyne
- Business and Informatics news
- World Vision director visits ACU National
- Upcoming Events
Melbourne celebrates graduates
More than 650 graduates crossed the stage as students from the Melbourne Campus (St Patrick’s) celebrated the completion of their studies at the recent 2008 graduation ceremonies at Melbourne Town Hall. Among them were two leading legal figures who were awarded honorary doctorates.
Death penalty abolitionist and Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria Lex Lasry QC was honoured for his contributions to social justice, particularly in the area of law.
Juvenile justice advocate Eugene Cullity was recognised for his outstanding service to the juvenile justice system and also for his community service to the people of Victoria. Since his retirement in 2003, he has maintained a range of service activities, serving as the Deputy Chair of the Legal Professional Tribunal and patron of the Jesuit Social Services Community Justice Program.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Craven with honorary doctorate recipient Eugene Cullity
Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Craven with honorary doctorate recipient Lex Lasry at the Melbourne graduation ceremony
ACU National’s first Doctor of Philosophy in the study area of nursing, Maria Murphy
Education graduates and mother and son Jennifer and Daniel Kerlin
Melbourne showcases Fair Trade Fortnight
Australian Catholic University Students for Awareness (ACUSA) from the Melbourne Campus (St Patrick’s) are hosting a Fairtrade Awareness campaign as part of Fair Trade Fortnight which runs from 3 to 18 May.
The campaign promotes Fair Trade goods via the Trading Circle, an initiative led by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, which distributes goods handcrafted by women from around the world. Fair Trade coffee is available at the campus cafeteria.
The campaign aims to continue the positive work currently underway across Australia, where spending on Fair Trade products is expected to surpass $20 million in 2008, marking Australia as among the world’s fastest growing fair trade markets.
ACUSA members from the Melbourne Campus (St. Patrick's) Mat Crane, Geraldine Butler and Nicole Ruys promote the Fair Trade Fortnight
Quality student experience explained
Acting Dean of Students Anne Cummins has released a brochure describing ACU National’s commitment to providing students with a high quality learning environment.
Students may collect the brochure, Providing a quality student experience, together with a free ACU National pen for a limited time, from all student centres.
The brochure outlines the University’s commitment to providing a quality educational experience in an environment in which students feel part of an authentic and high quality learning community.
The publication is part of the University’s commitment to communicate with students ahead of a visit from the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) later this year, who will be testing ACU National’s academic quality in the areas of “learning outcomes” and “community engagement”.
“The brochure describes the central aspects of ACU National which help to create a successful learning environment and one in which we help students to achieve their learning goals,” said Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Craven.
Visit http://www.acu.edu.au/qualify/why_choose/our_commitment_to_you/ to view the brochure online.
Parents add up the value of mathematics
A workshop for parents with ideas for enhancing their children’s learning of mathematics was held recently at the Ballarat Campus (Aquinas), as part of a numeracy project partnership between ACU National and The Smith Family.
The workshop aimed to give parents the confidence to assist their children in mathematics learning, with activities and advice prepared and presented by ACU National pre-service teachers in consultation with Senior Education Lecturer Dr Ann Gervasoni.
Dr Gervasoni said the project was making a highly valuable impact on the community. “In partnership with The Smith Family, the staff and students of ACU National’s Ballarat Campus are bringing about change in the lives of others through their work in the community,” she said.
Ballarat Campus (Aquinas) pre-service teachers Lauren Mitchell, Tom Jackson and Emma Petrie discuss how to help children develop their understanding of maths using items available in the kitchen.
Michael McKay’s farewell
Former National Head of School of Psychology Associate Professor Michael McKay was farewelled from the University at a recent function at the Melbourne Campus (St Patrick’s).
Associate Professor McKay had worked for ACU National for more than 20 years, commencing in 1987 and completing his time with the University at the end of 2007.
Other campuses have also had the opportunity to thank Associate Professor McKay for his service to the University, including the Brisbane Campus (McAuley at Banyo) late last year.
The National School of Psychology and the University community wish him well in retirement.
School of Psychology staff from the Melbourne Campus (St Patrick’s) with Associate Professor Michael McKay (centre)
Dean of Arts and Sciences Professor Gail Crossley with Associate Professor Michael McKay and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Quality and Engagement) Professor John O’Gorman
Celebration of midwives
Midwifery students wore specially screen-printed t-shirts when the Queensland School of Nursing and Midwifery recently celebrated International Midwives Day at the Brisbane Campus (McAuley at Banyo).
Guest presenter Mary Sidebotham, a member of the Association of Supervisors of Midwives in the UK, spoke of the value of midwifery and the privilege that midwives have in bringing new life into the world.
The event also celebrated the first year of ACU National’s Bachelor of Midwifery program, and the 10th anniversary of the Graduate Diploma in Midwifery.
Bachelor of Midwifery student Sivani Mira, Midwifery courses coordinator Gail Baker, Mary Sidebotham, Jennifer Kelly, Queensland Head of Nursing and Midwifery with new mother Georgia Railton–Stewart, with baby Bhala
Annual Report available online
The 2007 Annual Report, now available in hard copy and online, reflects the quality and richness of the University’s Mission-driven activities, showcased through five themes.
In Enlightening, the University’s distinctive, values-based teaching and learning is profiled, along with key data. In Responding, research is in focus. Engaging presents examples of the University’s commitment to social justice.
Collaborating pays tribute to the University’s benefactors, whose influence is amplified through the expertise we nurture, foster and deliver, and through all our graduates. Leading demonstrates both the quality of our staff and our investment in them, as, together with our students, they are empowered to enact the University's Mission.
ACU National’s Directors’ Report and Financial Statements 2007 is available as a supplementary document to the Annual Report.
Visit http://inet.acu.edu.au/annualreport07/ to view the 2007 Annual Report online. Further copies can be obtained by emailing editor@acu.edu.au or contacting University Relations on 02 9739 2363.
Melbourne students turn their Voices Up
The Melbourne Campus (St Patrick’s) has introduced a number of University Clubs to allow students, commencing students in particular, opportunities to meet and form stronger relationships with their peers. One of these clubs is the Singing Club, also known as "Voice Ups'.
Members of Voice Ups meet to sing world music, using music to connect with each other and to learn about the diverse backgrounds that students bring to our campus communities.
They perform songs originating from a diverse range of regions, including Africa and China, which are introduced by members.
“We come from many different cultures and we study and work in different faculties but we are able to connect with our voices from the soul to the world around us," explained Education Lecturer and group leader Christoph Maubach.
Members of University club Voice Ups sing led by Eduction lecturer Christoph Maubach
Murray to Moyne
An ACU National team has successfully completed the annual Murray to Moyne Cycle Relay, a 24-hour cycling event which raises funds for hospitals and health-related organisations.
Coordinated by Nursing Lecturer Joe Perry, the ACU National team raised money to staff and rebuild a medical centre attached to the Catholic teachers’ college in Baucau, East Timor.
The group thanks major sponsors Code Blue Nurses, KPMG, SPOS and Fast Track Express for their generous financial support, as well as the many individual donors. Together more than $12,000 was raised.
A further opportunity to raise funds will be on 20 May, when staff and students from the Melbourne Campus (St Patrick’s) School of Nursing and Midwifery will host a trivia night at Central Hall.
Prizes will includ two ski trips for two winners. Please contact Joe Perry on j.perry@patrick.acu.edu.au to book a seat for the event.
ACU National’s 2008 Murray to Moyne cycling team
Business and Informatics news
The School of Business and Informatics has released their First Semester newsletter, with highlights including the plans of business lecturers Al Marshall and Ralitza Bell to teach at Universite Paris Descartes later this month. For just over four weeks they will give a number of lectures on international marketing, marketing in Australia and cross cultural business issues, while encouraging students from Universite Paris Descartes to join a number of their peers currently studying at the North Sydney Campus (MacKillop). Meanwhile, Head of School of Business and Informatics (NSW) Dr Robert Compton’s biography will shortly appear in the inaugural edition of Who’s Who in NSW along with those of more than 6,000 notable fellow citizens of NSW.
Please view the full newsletter (1479 KB) for more information.
World Vision director visits ACU National
The Melbourne Campus (St Patrick’s) was visited recently by World Vision Director of Resource Development Jean Bouchebel who spoke of the values of collaboration and personal conviction as he addressed a small group of staff and students.
Mr Bouchebel, now based in southern California, works primarily with the Arabian diaspora, drawing on his Lebanese roots for cultural insight and his faith for the framework to combat poverty. He is a strong believer in inter-faith collaboration.
“My current responsibility is to go where Arabs are, whether they are Christian or Muslim,” Mr Bouchebel said. “But I grew up without a mother or father in a Catholic orphanage. I owe them a lot.”
Though he now spends his days advocating for social justice, Mr Bouchebel spent many years in Lebanon and later in Saudi Arabia working in the luxury hotel industry. He describes his Saudi years as a “desert experience”, working away from his family and being disconnected from any sense of community.
It was there that Mr Bouchebel felt what he describes as “the call of the Lord”, after which he returned home to Lebanon. Many of his friends thought he was crazy to leave such a lucrative position. But despite adversity and being out of work for nearly four years, Mr Bouchebel finally found his passion in serving the poor through World Vision.
“Serving the poor is more rewarding than serving the rich,” he explained. “The rich are never happy or satisfied, but the poor are always more content. In the Middle East there is a proverb: One hand cannot clap. We must work in collaboration. If we share resources, the impact is greater.
“Helping the poor is our shared goal,” he emphasised, calling on ACU National students and staff to be urgently aware of global poverty. “I love to work with the younger generations, who give so easily.” He also reminded participants that more than three billion people live on less than $2 a day, and cited education and exposure as two critical factors in improving the efforts of groups such as World Vision and ACU National prepared to confront poverty.
“When people are exposed to the poor, they cannot be anything but heartbroken,” he said. “I come back drained from the all the times I have been privileged enough to encounter the poor, but I also feel invigorated to act.”
World Vision’s Director of Resource Development Jean Bouchebel spoke at the Melbourne Campus (St. Patrick’s) recently
Upcoming Events
- Friday 23 May – Social Justice Youth Forum (McAuley at Banyo)
- Thursday 29 May – ILS Director lecture (St. Patrick’s)
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
