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Universities Australia’ s next leader
Professor Sandra Harding, vicechancellor and president of James Cook University, will take over as Universities Australia’ s next chair, after University of Melbourne’ s professor Glyn Davis.“ Not only has professor Harding exhibited exceptional leadership qualities and knowledge of the sector, her unbridled enthusiasm for everything higher education has been nothing short of infectious. Simply saying that Universities Australia is in safe hands is under-selling what she will bring to the role,” Davis said. Harding has been a member of the UA Board since January 2009, serving as deputy chair for the past two years. She was elected unopposed and will take up her position on May 2. Her academic leadership experience includes senior roles in universities and memberships or directorships of various local, national and international boards and councils. Harding is an economic sociologist with a keen interest in markets and organisation survey methodology. She also takes professional interest in education policy and management.
Japan relations. Elder is a prominent scholar in the area of 20th-21st century Australian cultural identity. She takes particular interest in relations between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples of Australia. She will tackle Australian society and culture at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, while researching and promoting Australian-Japanese crosscultural exchange. Elder starts the visiting professorship in October.
Leading journalist as a professorial fellow
The Age’ s political editor Michelle Grattan will teach and do research in her new role as professorial fellow at the University of Canberra. In recognition of her contribution to journalism, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the university in 1994. She is one of Australia’ s most respected and awarded political journalists, and has been a member of the Canberra press gallery for more than 40 years, covering all the most significant stories in Australian politics. She is the author, co-author and editor of several books and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2004 for her service to journalism.
Curtin vice-chancellor to retire
Curtin University vicechancellor, professor Jeanette Hacket, will not take up reappointment at the end of her second term in February next year. Hacket said that for more than 30 years at Curtin, she had been greatly inspired by working with a number of highly talented professionals. She believes the university has challenging days ahead but that these are going to be exciting. Curtin chancellor Colin Beckett said Hacket’ s integrity, initiative and vision had characterised her outstanding career.“ Under her leadership, Curtin has seen an increase in student numbers, research has intensified, multi-
Professor off to Tokyo
University of Sydney associate professor Catriona Elder has been appointed a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo. Every year the Centre for Pacific and American Studies at the University of Tokyo hosts a visiting professor in Australian Studies at their Komaba Campus. This is supported by the Australia-Japan Foundation, a non-statutory, bilateral foundation in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which aims to strengthen Australiamillion-dollar capital works programs have been completed and the university’ s national and international reputation has grown remarkably.” Appointed in 2006, Hacket will retire in August, taking service leave until next February.
UNSW COFA’ s new dean
The University of New South Wales has appointed professor Ross Harley as dean of the College of Fine Arts. Harley’ s art has been in international exhibitions such as the Pompidou Centre in Paris, New York’ s Museum of Modern Art, Ars Electronica in Austria and the Biennale of Sydney. He has been head of the School of Media Arts at COFA since 2008, and has won significant funding through the Australian Research Council. Currently he is the deputy director of the National Institute for Experimental Arts and co-chair of the International Symposium on Electronic Art. Harley will start his new role in April.
ACU’ s new Education dean
Australian Catholic University has appointed professor Claire Wyatt-Smith to be the Faculty of Education’ s executive dean. Wyatt- Smith was group dean( academic) at Griffith University’ s Faculty of Arts, Education and Law, where she held responsibilities across a wide range of schools. Previously she was dean of the Faculty of Education and research director of the Centre for Applied Language, Literacy and Communication Studies. She has also worked at the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology. Several program initiatives at undergraduate and postgraduate levels have been led by Wyatt-Smith and she also generated new conceptual and applied knowledge that was influential in literacy education assessment and curriculum policy, such as the provision for students with learning difficulties.
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2012 Words of the Year
The Macquarie Dictionary recently announced its winners of word( or phrase) of last year. Those chosen by the selection committee and the general public to represent the zeitgeist reflected a similar theme. The committee’ s choice was phantom vibration syndrome, or PVS. It describes the obsessive conviction that your phone is vibrating because of an incoming call, when actually it isn’ t. This comparatively new syndrome might be regarded as a symptom of a broader malaise encapsulated in the winner of the People’ s choice: First World problem. The phrase has been around for a while, to describe genuine social issues that arise in developed countries, such as obesity or industrial pollution, compared to those typical of the Third World, such as famine, poverty and overpopulation. Gradually First World problem has come to reflect the decadence and triviality of our society. Examples range from having to drink plunger coffee when your espresso machine has broken down, to losing the TV remote, or constantly worrying about whether your phone is delivering you a message.
By Adam Smith, senior research assistant at the Centre for Language Sciences, Macquarie University. www. campusreview. com. au March 2013 | 39