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ACU educators and alumni honoured in the King’s Birthday Honours

Passionate educator Associate Professor Mellita Jones has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours List.

A former science teacher in Ballarat, Associate Professor Jones was recognised for her service to education.

She has spent the past 17 years taking aspiring teachers at ACU on international cultural immersion programs in the Solomon Islands. She is also an ACU alumnus, completing her Masters of Education (Research) and Doctor of Philosophy at ACU.

“It is overwhelming to receive such recognition through Australia’s honour system,” Associate Professor Jones said.

“I am very proud of the work I do, and of the many ACU students who have undertaken the Solomon’s teaching experience.

“I am grateful to my colleagues who work alongside me in the program – from both ACU and in Solomon Islands, and to my mentor Dr Caroline Smith who initiated the Solomons program and has shaped my thinking about education and equity. I am also very grateful to my family, especially my husband, who supports me in everything that I do.”

As the International Community Engagement Coordinator for ACU’s National School of Education, Associate Professor Jones has forged a strong bond with educators throughout Oceania promoting education equity.

She has taken pre-service teachers on cultural immersion programs to the Solomon Islands since 2009, and Kiribati from 2016 to 2018. Students are immersed in the local cultures of these countries and teach in local schools with limited access to resources, fresh water, and electricity.

The unique program was named joint winner of the 2022 Uniservitate Award for excellence in Catholic higher education service-learning and has secured multiple three-year New Colombo Mobility Grants between 2016 and 2023 from the Australian Government.

A champion of education equity, Associate Professor Jones also established a world-first program teaching sign language to deaf and hearing people across rural areas of Honiara, the capital city of the Solomon Islands.

“It is so important for modern day universities to run programs like the Solomons immersion experience as it promotes equity and instils values in our future teachers that they hopefully pass on to all the children they go on to teach,” Associate Professor Jones said.

“It is only through the changes we make in economically developed countries like Australia that will ultimately address issues of global inequity and climate change. I hope the recognition I have received helps to spread that message and encourages more support for this sort of work in our education system.”

First Nations alumni distinguished Professor Markham John Rose was also appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to Indigenous tertiary education, and to community health. He is a graduate of Mercy Teachers’ College, a forerunner college of ACU in Melbourne, and has served in various teaching, research and leadership roles both overseas and in Australia.

ACU Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Zlatko Skrbis congratulated the recipients of the King’s Birthday Honours.

“The King’s Birthday Honours List recognises some of our nation’s most influential individuals and we are delighted to see ACU staff and alumni included in this year’s list,” Professor Skrbis said.

“ACU is a university with service at its core, and our educators and students are committed to improving the lives of others through empathy, compassion and respect. We wholeheartedly applaud all those honoured nationally this week for their significant and selfless service to their community and our nation.”