ON THE MOVE campusreview . com . au
STRICTLY SPEAKING | FURLOUGH
Lexicographers and linguists like to make graphs to show how the usage of words ebbs and flows . It ’ s a trivial comparison to make , but some of these charts showing recent trends have similarities to the graphics we ’ ve been seeing of COVID-19 infection increases . Take for example the word furlough which , in the UK particularly , has grown in frequency at an amazing rate . It ’ s not a new word – in fact it dates back to the 17th century in its original sense of ‘ permission for leave from the armed forces ’. In the US this meaning was extended to prisoners allowed to leave jail for a period , and also to employees who were temporarily laid off , usually due to economic downturns . The UK government introduced a furlough scheme in March of this year to financially support employers who couldn ’ t afford to pay full wages for their workers during the pandemic . This sense of the word , both as a noun and a verb , has now spread across the English-speaking world and has become common in Australia . Hopefully the furlough curve will flatten and fall as rapidly as it has risen – since this would likely go hand in hand with the decline of a rather more crucial curve .
Written by Dr Adam Smith , convenor of the Editing and Electronic Publishing Program at Macquarie University .
NEW VISION FOR HEARING
Macquarie University and Cochlear Ltd have jointly announced the appointment of the cochlear chair in hearing and health .
Professor Bamini Gopinath , an epidemiologist and public health researcher , will take up the position in October .
The role is intended to develop a leading platform for further impactful public health research in hearing in Australia .
Gopinath , who is currently a senior principal research fellow at the University of Sydney , said : “ My vision is to create a national and international focus on hearing loss , and I hope to achieve this by bringing a different lens to hearing research with my public health expertise .”
USSC NABS NUCLEAR EXPERT
Strategic studies expert Fiona Cunningham has joined the Foreign Policy and Defence Program at the United States Studies Centre ( USSC ) as a nonresident fellow .
Dr Cunningham is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University and a Stanton nuclear security fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 2020-21 . Her research examines the relationship between technology and military strategy , with a focus on China .
The Mandarin speaker will contribute to the program ' s ongoing work on deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and is authoring a USSC policy brief on the implications of US-China nuclear competition for Australia .
PHILOSOPHER MOVES ON
Philosopher Professor Vanessa Lemm is bound for Deakin University after stepping down as the vice president and executive dean of Flinders University ’ s College of Humanities , Arts and Social Sciences – a position she held for three years .
Lemm will continue in her leadership role at Flinders until January 2021 when she will take up the position of executive dean in the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University .
Deakin ’ s vice-chancellor professor Iain Martin said Lemm has a “ thoroughly international profile ”, with stints in the US , Germany and Chile .
CANADA FOR HALL The University of Newcastle has announced that come November , Professor Kevin Hall will take up the role of vicechancellor at the University of Victoria , Canada .
UoN ’ s vice-chancellor Professor Alex Zelinsky said : “ As Senior Deputy Vice- Chancellor Research and Innovation , and then through his leadership in the GEP division , Kevin and his team provided the strategy that grew the university ’ s audited research income from $ 82 million to $ 115 million over five successive years . Our ranking in this funding framework went from fourteenth to ninth in the sector under his leadership .”
NEW VC FOR USC Aged care expert Professor Helen Bartlett has landed in her new role as USC ’ s third vice-chancellor and president . Bartlett took over the reins following Professor Greg Hill ’ s 10-year run .
The former VC of Federation University Australia is an internationally recognised scholar in gerontology and , during a period at the University of Queensland , established the Australasian Centre on Ageing .
The current chair of the Regional Universities Network , Bartlett said : “ There ’ s an enormous satisfaction that comes with widening access to higher education across regional Australia and developing programs that respond to local needs .”
FROM TAX LAWYER TO VC
Not long was the VC seat cold at Federation University before Professor Duncan Bentley filled it .
Bentley ’ s first role in academia was at Bond University as a tax lawyer . “ I ’ ve been in academia ever since ,” he said .
Prior to joining Federation , Bentley was deputy vice-chancellor ( academic ) at Swinburne University . Before that , he oversaw vocational education , external engagement and international at Victoria University .
Bentley said Federation was in a strong position to build on its history and being a dual-sector university was a great advantage for a regional university .
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