ON THE MOVE
campusreview.com.au
USQ NAMES
INTERIM VC
John Dornbusch,
chancellor of the
University of Southern
Queensland,
announced that
professor Janet Verbyla will be USQ interim
vice-chancellor following the resignation of
Jan Thomas.
Prior to commencing in her present role
as senior deputy vice-chancellor, Verbyla
held a range of roles at USQ, including dean
of faculty of sciences, pro-vice-chancellor
(student management), and acting deputy
vice-chancellor (global learning).
Verbyla previously held multiple senior
roles at Flinders University. Her background
is in software and information engineering.
She will be acting vice-chancellor until
January 20, then interim VC, until USQ
Council appoints Thomas’s replacement.
PHD RESEARCHES
FOOTBALL, AND
PLAYS IT
STRICTLY SPEAKING | LUXED AND LUSH
A PhD student from the
Monash Biomedicine
Discovery Institute,
whose work could
benefit football players, has been selected
to play for Carlton in the first AFL Women’s
League draft.
Kate Gillespie-Jones was picked 14th
among the 145 women chosen by the
eight clubs in the historic draft held
recently in Sydney. Her PhD study is
focused on traumatic brain injury caused by
blows to the head in car accidents or on the
sporting field.
Gillespie-Jones said she hopes to
keep up her research while training,
playing and travelling for games, but
may consider part-time research during
the season.
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THOMAS HEADING
FOR MASSEY U
University of Southern
Queensland
vice-chancellor
professor Jan Thomas
will step down to lead
New Zealand’s Massey University.
Thomas is the second woman to be
appointed vice-chancellor of Massey. The
first was professor Judith Kinnear, who
headed the institution from 2003 to 2008.
Thomas succeeds Steve Maharey, who
steps down after eight years.
Thomas, who has led USQ since 2012, will
finish up her current role on December 16.
USQ chancellor John Dornbusch said
Thomas left “an indelible mark on our
university”, and praised her for long-term
strategy, increasing research impact,
improving teaching quality, and her
commitment to equity.
U of A PROF NAMED
HEALTH FELLOW
The University of
Adelaide’s professor Roger
Byard has been named
a fellow of the Australian
Academy of Health and
Medical Sciences.
Byard was admitted to the academy
during a recent event in Brisbane.
Byard holds the George Richard Marks
professorship of pathology at the University
of Adelaide (School of Medical Sciences)
and is senior specialist forensic pathologist
with Forensic Science SA.
Most of Byard’s career has been spent
examining, investigating and researching
people’s deaths. He has developed
recommendations and policy proposals
to prevent accidental deaths. He also has
a major interest in developi