ON THE MOVE
campusreview.com.au
BOND’S BUSINESS
BONANZA
Two academics have
joined Bond University’s
business school.
World-leading family
enterprise expert
Dr Justin Craig has been lured back down
under after spending six years working in
some of the most elite US schools, including
the Kellogg School of Management at
Northwestern University in Chicago. A former
PhD student at Bond, Craig returns to fill the
role of professor of entrepreneurship.
Dr Francesco Cangiano, formerly a
tutor and lecturer at the University of
Western Australia, is also coming on board
as assistant professor of organisational
behaviour.
HARVARD HERO
It sometimes takes a while for dictionaries
to catch up with usage. One of the latest
additions to the Oxford English Dictionary
online is the transitive sense of the verb
spruik, ‘to talk about or promote/publicise
something’, to add to the intransitive sense
previously covered, ‘to attract custom to a
show, shop, etc’. Both are familiar senses
in Australia – though spruik isn’t used
elsewhere in the English-speaking world –
and the OED acknowledges its longevity,
dating the first use back to 1901. It apparently
comes from the German sprüche, meaning
‘sales pitch’, although the Australian National
Dictionary gives its origin as unknown.
There was German immigration to Australia
throughout the 19th century, including
some notable winemakers, but it is curious
that this word should take hold in Australia
and nowhere else. Spiel is another word
with German origins with a similar meaning,
and it has acquired more widespread use –
appearing first in American English, also at
the turn of the 20th century. The presence
of these words in English is most likely a
testament to the entrepreneurial skills of
German Jews as they sought to make new
lives for themselves at different ends of
the world. And this spirit of opportunism
and salesmanship is still seen as a typical
Australian characteristic. We certainly saw
heightened levels of spruiking during the
recent election campaign.
Written by Dr Adam Smith, convenor of
the Editing and Electronic Publishing
Program at Macquarie University.
28
Harvard University has
announced Western
Sydney University’s
Professor Katherine
Gibson as the Gough
Whitlam and Malcolm
Fraser Visiting Professor of Australian Studies
for the 2020–21 academic year.
A feminist economic geographer, Gibson
is currently a professional research fellow
at Western Sydney University’s Institute for
Culture and Society.
She says she is “especially looking
forward to the prospect of introducing
students at Harvard University to the work
of antipodean feminists whose writing has
reframed thinking about the body, ecology
and the economy”.
Previous honourees include Gough
Whitlam, Raewyn Connell and Tim Flannery.
GENE JENNY
La Trobe University
geneticist Professor
Jenny Graves has been
elected to the National
Academy of Sciences
(NAS) in the US, joining
a community of world-leading scientists.
Considered one of the highest honours
a scientist can receive, Graves – Prime
Minister’s Prize for Science winner 2017
and Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow – is the only
Australian to have been elected this year.
Renowned in her field for mapping
kangaroo and platypus genomes and
predicting the eventual disappearance of the
Y chromosome, Graves expressed her delight
that “major discoveries around how human
sex genes work – based on the unique and
remarkable fauna of Australia – have been
recognised by one of the world’s most
prominent and influential scientific bodies”.
NEIGHBOUR’S
GOOD NEWS
Curtin University’s
Professor Michael
Bunce has been made
chief scientist of New
Zealand’s Environmental
Protection Authority (EPA).
A former ARC Future Fellow and head
of Curtin’s Trace and Environmental DNA
laboratory, he is an expert in using DNA
sequencing to investigate key challenges
around biodiversity.
“I’ve been lucky to work with many
dynamic academics from multiple disciplines
researching environmental impacts from
fossil bones in caves near Margaret River,
remote coral reefs, to mine sites undergoing
restoration,” he said. “I am excited to use that
background in my new role in New Zealand.”
INTERNATIONAL
AMBASSADOR
Deputy dean Professor
John Shields has been
appointed to a new
high-profile role at the
University of Sydney
Business School, aimed at advancing the
institution’s interests worldwide through
partnerships.
As academic director, international,
Shields “will provide academic leadership
when it comes to implementing the
school’s strategic priorities of achieving
and maintaining a globally diverse student
learning community,” said business school
dean Professor Greg Whitwell. The school
has seen an explosion through international
enrolments in recent years, with the
community numbering 14,000 students.
FEMALE-LED EXEC
Professor Julia Cogin is
RMIT’s new pro-vice-
chancellor, business,
and vice-president.
Having entered
university with
aspirations to become an astronaut, she
became instead an experienced corporate
leader and scholar, with previous work at
Australia’s top four banks, Qantas, Optus
and News Corp.
“A contemporary world-class business
education should include a focus on ethical
judgement and industry engagement, as
well as utilise technology to create flexible
and rewarding and learning experiences,”
she said. She looks forward “to supporting
our students as they make diverse career
and life choices". Cogin’s appointment
brings the proportion of women in
executive positions at RMIT to 60 per cent.