ON THE MOVE campusreview . com . au
STRICTLY SPEAKING | RUOK
Amid concerns about other people ’ s mental health , this four-letter initialism / acronym for “ Are you OK ?” came alive in 2021 . It was coined some years before by an Australian non-profit suicide prevention organisation ( in 2009 ) which holds an annual R U OK ? Day in September . Perfect for text-messaging , it ’ s widely used as a digital greeting . The letter U itself has a long history of representing “ you ” in IOU , first recorded in the 1600s . But its uses for “ you ” in standard English are greatly outnumbered by scores of other words that it represents in contemporary English . Think of it standing for “ united ” in the initialisms for countries such as UK , USA , UAR and organisations such as the UN and UAP , and for “ universal ” in USB and UTC . It ’ s code for “ ultra ” in UHF , UHT , UV , and for “ upper- ( class )” in U and non-U alternatives such as “ napkin ” and “ serviette ”. In some compounds it represents the shape of the letter , as in the “ U-shaped ” valleys of glacier-scraped landscapes , and in the “ U-bend ” pipe in the bathroom . Its most unusual use is in “ utopia ”, the title of Thomas More ’ s celebrated satire , first translated into English in 1551 16 years after his execution . The U of More ’ s Utopia represents a little-known negative Greek prefix ou- , so as to show the perfect society he described didn ’ t exist anywhere . So much for the thought that Utopia might be the place for you and everyone .
Written by Emeritus Professor Pam Peters , researcher with Macquarie University ’ s Linguistics Department .
NASH NAMED IN NEW ROLE
Former Nationals deputy leader Fiona Nash has been appointed Australia ’ s first Regional Education
Commissioner . A senator for NSW between 2004 and 2017 , Nash will be tasked with overseeing the implementation of the strategy to improve regional , rural and remote tertiary education .
Since leaving politics , Nash has been the strategic adviser for regional engagement and government relations at Charles Sturt University , and this year became a director of the New South Wales Skills Board .
The role was formed as a recommendation of the Napthine Review .
“ The Napthine Review identified country Australians are less than half as likely to obtain a university degree by the age of 35 , compared to those in our cities ,” Nash said .
MURDOCH DEEKS INTO THE FUTURE
Murdoch University has announced Professor Andrew Deeks as its new vice chancellor .
Deeks comes to Murdoch from University College Dublin , where he has served as president since 2014 . He was the first Australian to lead an Irish university .
He replaces former VC Eeva Leinonen , who heads the opposite way to take up the role of president of the National University of Ireland , Maynooth .
Former Deakin VC and UWA interim VC Jane den Hollander will act as Interim vice chancellor until April .
SHERGOLD RETIRES Professor Peter Shergold AC has announced that he will retire from his role as the Chancellor of Western Sydney University at the end of his term on 31 December 2022 ,
Shergold has served as WSU Chancellor for 12 years over three consecutive terms since his appointment in 2011 .
WSU vice chancellor and president , Professor Barney Glover AO , thanked Shergold for his exemplary leadership of the university ’ s Board of Trustees .
“ Professor Shergold ’ s decades of knowledge and wealth of experience have been indispensable ,” Glover said .
“ He has been one of the strongest and most passionate advocates for
this university , our students , and the transformational power of higher education , as well as for the Western Sydney region and its diverse and vibrant communities .”
TORRENS TURNS TO VARGHESE
Torrens University has appointed Jim Varghese as its second chancellor .
Varghese will succeed Michael Mann who has been chancellor since the university ’ s inception in 2011 , after successfully managing and overseeing the application for the university ’ s title .
Varghese comes to Torrens with a wealth of experience in both the public and private sector and Mann said that he is “ proud ” to be handing him the reins .
“ Jim is a highly effective , respected and successful leader in both the private sector and public institutions .
“ His reputation in the higher education sector is impeccable , with a commitment to the highest standards of governance , transparency , equity and stakeholder management .”
OUM NAMES NEW VC
Professor Frederick Anthony “ Hugh ” Bartholomeusz has been appointed vice chancellor at the
Oceania University of Medicine . He is a retired Air Vice-Marshal and former Surgeon General of the Australian Defence Force Reserves , as well as a military health practitioner and plastic surgeon .
Bartholomeusz joined OUM in 2020 as Dean of Health in 2020 and was promoted to Deputy Vice Chancellor ( Clinical ) in April 2021 .
( HAP ) GOOD FOR SWINBURNE
Deakin University ’ s Professor Karen Hapgood has been appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor for
Research at Swinburne University .
Hapgood has been at Deakin since 2017 , when she head of the School of Engineering , before taking the role of executive Dean of the Faculty of Science , Engineering and Built Environment in July 2018 .
Hapgood will start her new role in March .
28