links alumni magazine
February 2005B a l a n c i n g l i fe a n d w o r k a t t h e t o p
Contents
volume [8] number [1]CRICOS No. 00213J
11
6 9 10
Cover story
9
Queensland’s Businesswoman of the Year merges work and family to find happinessResearch
1
A new discovery links stress and genetics with addiction3
QUT experts swoop on a bird crash risk at Brisbane Airport8
Art proves to be no riskier than stocks in the investment stakes11
UV rays are proving to have a bright side14
New mums are pram-walking away the baby bluesFeatures
6
Technology is breeding a new generation of bullies15
Too young, too old, or just right for prep school?16
The reigns of QUT’s top ceremonial job change hands19
Boom-time in SEQ – can we cope with the surge?20
QUT takes alumni lessons from its US cousinsProfiles
4
A successful ensemble of QUT authors blend craft with creativity10
One of our golden greats12
A father and daughter forge family traditions at QUT13
Intelligence and passion propel a law graduate to great heights17
An inspirational student proves a worthy bursary winnerRegulars
News round-up 2
Legal-ease 7
Research update 18
Alumni News 21
Keep in Touch 22–24
Ask the Vice-Chancellor
Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake responds to questions on the importance the university places on building relationships with its alumni.
See inside back cover for details.
Editor
Janne Rayner
Phone: 07 3864 2361 Email: [email protected]
Contributors
Toni Chambers Heath Kelly Carmen Myler Mechelle Webb
Photography
Anthony Phillips Erika Fish
Graphic Design
Mike Kuhn
Our cover
2004 Telstra Queensland Businesswoman of the Year and QUT alumnus, Marisa Vecchio, at her riverside home in Brisbane where she practices pilates to help keep herself grounded away from the office. See page 9 for story.
QUT Links is published by QUT’s Marketing and Communication Department in cooperation with the QUT Alumni and Development Services. Editorial material is gathered from a range of sources and does not necessarily reflect the opinions and policies of QUT.
QUTlinks February 2005 1
By Toni Chambers NEW research has found extreme stress
can trigger a gene that makes it harder for people to resist alcohol and drugs in social situations.
The research has discovered that people who have the gene and are exposed to stressful situations, particularly as teenagers or young adults, are at a high risk of becoming alcoholics, addictive smokers or heroin addicts.
Researcher and head of QUT’s School of Psychology and Counselling Professor Ross Young said his team had already found that the A1 version of the D2 dopamine receptor gene was associated with severe substance misuse.
“We know that up to 70 per cent of people with a serious substance misuse problem have the A1 version of the gene,” he said.
Professor Young said the new research was conducted with Vietnam veterans who were exposed to significant stress, including combat when in active service.
Stress, genes and addiction:
“The results indicate that those with the A1 version of the gene are less likely to be able to resist addictive substances in social situations or when socially pressured to drink, and as a result have a high chance of developing substance abuse problems,” he said.
“These findings are important in informing our debate about the nature of substance misuse, especially in moving it away from being viewed as a criminal justice issue to a health issue that is the result of both genetic and environmental risks.”
Professor Young said the discovery also meant that specific treatments including medications and psychological therapies that improve people’s ability to deal with stress could be applied to target the problem.
“For example, we have trialled an anti-depressant medication to treat Vietnam veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, many of whom were also
drinking heavily in an attempt to cope with their ongoing difficulties,” he said.
“The medication led to better social functioning in those with the A1 version of the gene compared to those without the gene.
“These advances in the treatment of veterans’ mental health are timely, given the number of our forces who continue to be deployed in conflicts where there are high levels of threat and chronic stress.”
The latest findings of this research program, conducted in collaboration with Dr Bruce Lawford from the Greenslopes Private Hospital and Professor Ernest Noble from the University of California, Los Angeles, have recently been published in the prestigious US journal Psychiatry Research.
The research will continue at QUT’s new Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation.
a
cocktail
Researchers have found that saying no to that next glass of wine or cigarette is
governed by your genes – and stress levels.
potent
‘Smart’ women honoured
Two medical researchers from QUT have snared awards in the Smart Women–Smart State Awards.
Dr Zee Upton won the research scientist category for her leadership
of the medical research team behind VitroGro – a world-first product that speeds up the healing of wounds and burns. PhD researcher Penny Jeffery is also celebrating after winning the postgraduate student award for her identification reports on ghrelin – a new growth factor in prostate cancer.
Fashion first
A first-year QUT fashion student has walked away with one of fashion’s most glittering prizes. Eighteen-year-old Ashleigh Downes created history when she won the student design category in the Australian Fashion Design Awards.
She is the first student from QUT’s three-year-old fashion course to win the prestigious award. The course’s first graduates enter the industry this year.
New Advancement director
Simone Garske has been appointed Director of University Advancement and Alumni. Ms Garske, who has worked for the Development Office for several years, now heads up QUT’s operations in the areas of fundraising, alumni relations, external relations and community engagement.
Caboolture graduates
QUT’s young Caboolture campus has produced its first two graduates – Peter Brown, 40, and Kim Miller, 22. Mr Brown, a former postie, said he was delighted to be awarded his bachelor degree in business information management at a special Brisbane ceremony.
News round-up
New chair in traumatology
A leading surgeon from Germany, who specialises in handling complex and multiple injuries, has joined QUT’s medical engineering program as its first chair in traumatology. Professor Michael Schuetz came to Brisbane from Europe’s largest university hospital and world-leading trauma centre, Charité Hospital in Berlin.
In an agreement between QUT and Queensland Health, Professor Schuetz will be based at the Princess Alexandra Hospital where he will undertake clinical practice and research.
Dr Jimmy Little
Indigenous entertainer Jimmy Little has added a QUT honorary doctorate to the accolades he has received during his successful career. Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake said the university had a strong commitment to Indigenous education and wanted to recognise Mr Little’s contribution to the Australian music industry and to Indigenous education over 45 years.
Creative Industries students remembered
Three students who died in a car accident last year are being remembered by a new
$100,000 scholarship fund to help other creative young people. Gerard Cutcheon, Adam Neykoff-Davies and Helena Wood were all studying communication design at QUT. The new Communication Design Honours Scholarship has been funded through the generous support of the students’ families and friends, QUT, the Australasian Centre for Interaction Design and the University of Westminster, UK (Helena’s university).
QUT helps Hamish smash world record
QUT researchers have helped Australian shotputter Hamish MacDonald smash his own world record at the 2004 Paralympic Games. MacDonald, 30, competed in Athens using a high-tech throwing frame designed by QUT biomechanist Dr Laurent Frossard and the “Parashot”
research team. QUT student Alison O’Riordan also coaches MacDonald in Canberra, while completing her PhD in biomechanics.
Student housing boost
Students will soon be able to live in cluster-style student accommodation next door to the Kelvin Grove campus, with construction of a multi-million dollar residential project due to begin this year.
The managed student accommodation development – on Lots 22 and 23 of the Kelvin Grove Urban Village – will be less than 500m from lecture rooms. The six-level 370-bed complex will be built by Campus Living Pty Ltd.
Peers honour biomedical engineer
Professor of Biomedical Engineering Mark Pearcy was awarded the David Dewhurst Award by the Institute of Engineers, Australia, late last year.
The prestigious award recognised Professor Pearcy’s outstanding contribution to his field.
Carl McConnell recognised
Renowned Queensland potter – Doctor of the University and alumnus, Carl McConnell, who had a long and close association with QUT before his death in 2003, was recently awarded an Order of Australia medal posthumously for services to the arts. QUT’s Art Museum holds over 68 ceramics by the master craftsman.
QUTlinks February 2005 3
By Mechelle Webb BELINDA Thomson means it when she says her work is like watching grass grow.
The young QUT researcher and alumnus is spending a year watching the grass at the Brisbane Airport in a bid to reduce one of the major hazards to all planes – birds.
Ms Thomson’s study is one of several QUT projects underway at the airport as part of a research partnership between the university and the Brisbane Airport Corporation.
The Australian-first partnership will see the BAC inject more than $700,000 in research funding and in-kind support.
The research team is being led by Dr Ashantha Goonetilleke from QUT’s Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering.
Research already underway includes water drainage investigations, an air quality study of the airport precinct, working out the amount of fill required for future runway and taxiway developments, and Ms Thomson’s avifauna study.
Although the airport already employs techniques to deter birds – such as scaring them away with loud noise – no research has been done on habitat manipulation and environmental influences such as grass types and lengths.
Ms Thomson said her study’s major aim was to prove that long grass helped keep birds away from the airport zone – mainly because it made it more difficult for them to see food or approaching threats.
She is analysing several hectares of grass which is cut at four different heights to see which type of birds like what sort of grass.
“We want to deter birds from the airport to reduce the risk that they collide with planes,” she said.
“Bird strikes are one of the biggest hazards to aviation on a global scale. In Australia there are more than 500 strikes every year and Brisbane usually has the highest rate of all airports – 79 bird strikes in 2003 for example.
“The airport is situated on the water and it’s an old wetland so there’s a vast amount of grassland there for birds to come and feed on.
“My goal is to develop a scientifically- based grasslands management strategy for the airport which will cut down the number of birds.”
Ms Thomson is completing a Master of Natural Resource Sciences at QUT.
Her research project has already identified the most common types of grass within the airport zone – and the birds which are the worst offenders when it came to infiltrating airspace.
“The most common birds at the Brisbane Airport are the ibis ... they can gather in groups of up to 150 at a time,”
she said.
Airport
A research threat
partnership between QUT and the
Brisbane Airport
Corporation aims to
make air travel safer.
When it comes to success, there are no blocks for creative writers from QUT.
thewritepath
5
By Carmen Myler THE Bohemian atmosphere of a smoky Parisian café may
be in stark contrast to a university tutorial for any aspiring writer, but QUT creative writing lecturer Dr Nike Bourke sees commonalities.
Both environments, Dr Bourke says, foster creativity in writers and help them develop their skills.
“There have been all kinds of systems in place, for centuries, to foster good writers,” Dr Bourke says.
“Some people might have an idea that this has to involve a bunch of writers hanging out in a café to learn from each other but mostly it’s about the company and peer mentorship, aspects of the romantic ideal that you can get in a tutorial.
“It’s all about getting guidance and support from someone who’s a little further along the path.”
Dr Bourke is responding to a common criticism in literary circles that creative writing is not something which can be
“taught” at university.
“Personally I don’t think you can teach creativity,” she says.
“But I do think you can encourage and support it and, largely, what creative writing degrees do – undergraduate programs especially – is help writers understand and develop their craft.”
In an article in The Weekend Australian, writer Frank Moorhouse points to the assertion that the prevalence of creative writing courses in Australia – 37 tertiary institutions now offer them – has seen publishers flooded with “highly competent but mediocre novels”.
“I know from talking to publishers that they don’t see it that way,” Dr Bourke says.
“Publishers generally see a greater number of well-crafted novels come out of creative writing degrees than the general
‘slush pile’ (of unsolicited manuscripts).”
Dr Bourke says it is a common misconception that everyone who does a creative writing degree wants to write a novel.
“A lot of students realise there’s enormous potential in non- fiction and textbook writing, recognising fiction is a very small part of the publishing spectrum – only a small percentage of books published are novels.
“Many students are interested in writing fiction or poetry, but they are also interested in journalism and publishing, corporate writing, professional writing, copywriting, web-authoring and editing.”
Despite a full teaching schedule, Dr Bourke remains a prolific writer whose literary aspirations remain on the desktop rather than tucked away in a drawer.
Following the release of her award-winning debut novel, The Bone Flute, in 2000, Dr Bourke has two new books coming out in 2005 and another two manuscripts underway.
Her achievements smash another myth raised by Moorhouse – that creative writing courses exist chiefly to provide jobs for writers “who can’t make it”.
Publishers generally see a greater number of well-crafted novels come out of creative writing degrees than the general ‘slush pile’.
Making it
QUT staff, students and alumni “making it” in the world of publishing and literary awards … pictured opposite page from left to right …
■ Film PhD student and children’s author Cory Taylor won a feature screenplay award at the USA Moondance International Film Festival for The Rushworth War.
The screenplay also received attention from industry notables as a finalist in the Final Draft Big Break!
Screenwriting Contest.
■ Casual academic and masters graduate Craig Bolland was shortlisted for the Premier’s Literary Award for his first novel, I Knit Water. His second novel, Suicide Girls, is due out at the end of 2005 and will see him debut in the crime fiction genre.
■ Undergraduate education/creative writing student John Danalis published his third children’s book in 2004.
Having previously published picture books, Dog 37 is his first young adult novel.
■ Graduate diploma alumnus Morgan Jones (seated) is working hard to complete his first novel after winning the 2004 WRITEsmall competition as part of the Brisbane Writers Festival.
■ Tutor and honours graduate Benjamin Law was shortlisted for the 2004 State Library of Queensland Young Writers Awards. He is part of a team who recently got funding from UNESCO to start a free quarterly magazine dedicated to writing, design, music and art.
■ Creative writing lecturer Dr Nike Bourke will publish her second novel, The True Green of Hope, in 2005, and her first children’s picture book, What the Sky Knows, with illustrator Stella Danalis, in April.
■ Andrew Stafford wrote his book Pig City as part of his masters thesis. The book, published in October 2004, chronicles Brisbane’s music scene pre- and post- Fitzgerald Inquiry.
■ Masters alumnus Steven Lang (not pictured) will have his first novel, An Accidental Terrorist, published in 2005 after winning the Premier’s Literary Award for an emerging Queensland author.
■ Associate lecturer in media and communication Dr Axel Bruns (not pictured) explores the changing face of journalism in his book, Gatewatching: Collaborative Online News Production, due mid-2005.
QUTlinks February 2005 5
New technologies are breeding a new generation of bullies that taunt, tease and ridicule through cyberspace.
SCHOOLYARD bullies have turned new-age, using the internet and mobile phones to wreak havoc on their prey.
A QUT study of a Brisbane Year 8 class revealed that 13 per cent had fallen victim to cyberbullying, 25 per cent knew someone who had and more than half felt that the phenomenon was on the rise.
Cyberbullying involves a range of technologies including email, websites, SMS and chat-rooms.
Researcher at QUT’s School of Learning and Professional Studies Dr Marilyn Campbell said research into the new area was scant, but it was clear cyberbullying had the potential to have more severe consequences and be more destructive than traditional face-to-face bullying.
“The use of websites to taunt someone, for example, can reach a much wider audience. The playground on the other hand is a much more secretive place where just a few people might hear the abuse,” she said.
Dr Campbell said there was less reporting of cyberbullying and adults were less able to detect it.
“Kids’ online and offline lives are so intermingled now – they chat online at all times of the day and night whereas with traditional bullying, home used to be a safe place,” she said.
“Most parents are unaware that their children have online lives – they just see the internet as a resource.”
She said the New South Wales and Queensland governments had recently introduced policies on cyberbullying which suspended and excluded those responsible.
By Toni Chambers
New-age
bullies
“These measures are counter-productive, but it satisfies parents,” she said.
“Punishment stops kids from reporting abuse because they think adults will make it worse for them and they’re now also afraid of having their technology taken away from them.”
She said prevention measures should include making teachers, parents and children aware of cyberbullying; ensuring parents supervise their children’s use of technology as they do other aspects of their life; and encouraging schools to adopt a no-blame approach and peer support systems where students react negatively to bullying behaviour.
Kids’ online and offl ine
lives are so intermingled
now – they chat online
at all times of the day
and night whereas with
traditional bullying, home
used to be a safe place.
We asked Professor Des Butler about possible legal issues pertaining to cyberbullying.
1: Can legal action be taken for cyberbullying?
A: If the child is suffering a recognisable psychiatric injury – such as prolonged depression – which is able to be medically linked to the cyberbullying, then the child may be able to take legal action.
2: Who could the child sue?
A: The bully is the obvious defendant, but is unlikely to have the resources to make any legal action worthwhile.
The child’s school has a legal duty to provide a safe environment for its students, which means both physically and psychologically safe. This duty has been held by courts to cover physical acts of bullying and there would be no reason why it would not also extend to cyberbullying.
3: Legally, what should a school do in response to cyberbullying?
A: The school’s duty of care requires it to do what a reasonable school authority would do in response to the reasonably foreseeable risk. A no-tolerance policy against all forms of bullying – which should explicitly include forms of cyberbullying to remove all doubt – is a start but as with any policy would not be sufficient in itself. There should also be repeated reminders of the policy and the policy must be implemented when necessary. A reasonable response might also require other steps as are practicable, such as monitoring of chat rooms in the same way as play grounds should be supervised to prevent physical bullying.
4: So is there no reproach against the bully himself or herself?
A: Depending on the bully’s age he or she may be committing a criminal offence, such as stalking or even (under
Queensland law) torture. These offences are broadly defined and may embrace acts of cyberbullying.
Professor Des Butler is a former law medallist and dux of the QIT Law School. He joined the law faculty on a full-time basis in 1989, working variously as a senior lecturer, associate professor and assistant dean, research. Des’s research interests include defamation, liability for psychiatric injury, negligence, privacy, media law and contract law. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Research explores cybergames and their social side-effects.
DANIEL Chapman can remember a time when he would sleep for just six hours in a weekend – he wasn’t out at parties or nightclubs, he was playing online games.
“I’d get just a few hours sleep on Friday and Saturday nights, similar to clubbing but without the headache, and much cheaper,” the 27 year-old IT professional laughs.
QUT media studies researcher Sal Humphreys has been studying these online multi-user games for the past two years and says there are more and more people like Daniel, spending 40 hours a week and longer inside virtual game communities.
“People become gripped by the games because they can form friendships and social networks that they may not be capable of offline,” she said.
“The games open up a whole new world by bringing together hundreds of thousands of people from around the world, for example, EverQuest has 450,000 players and Lineage has three million players in Korea and another million in Taiwan.
“The thing that keeps people playing is the social interactions – they keep adding more layers of content and the game relies on people forming groups and developing complex relationships.”
Online... all the time
7
QUTlinks February 2005
INVESTING in Australian art is on a par with the Australian stock market when it comes to financial risk, a QUT study of almost 38,000 auctioned paintings has revealed.
With the international art market booming QUT economics lecturers, Associate Professor Andrew Worthington and Helen Higgs, have developed a market price index of Australian artists.
The index is based on their study of 37,605 paintings by 60 well-known Australian artists including McCubbin, Streeton, Roberts and Boyd sold at auction between 1973 and 2003.
Professor Worthington said their research disproved a commonly held belief that investing in art, while it had potential for high returns, also involved great risk.
“We found the risk and return on leading Australian artists over the 30-year period was not very different to that on the stock market,” Professor Worthington said.
The index has been developed with Australian art investment at an all-time high having bounced back from a slump in the international market during the late 80s and early 90s.
Australian auction houses were expected to set a new sales record of $100 million last year, up from $92 million in 2003.
In April last year a Brett Whitely painting of Sydney Harbour sold at auction for $2 million, a record price for modern Australian art.
“Fine-art auction houses are struggling to keep up with the increased demand for Australian paintings, especially if the artists are included among the 50 most collectable by the Australian Art Collector magazine,” Professor Worthington said.
The index reveals paintings by Frederick McCubbin, Rosalie Gascoigne, Rover Thomas, Margaret Preston and Tom Roberts recorded the highest percentage price increases over the 30-year period.
McCubbin’s work has increased in value by more than 250 per cent while the others recorded jumps of 150 per cent or more during the time period.
The study also found artists deceased at the time of auction, works executed in oils or acrylic and those auctioned by Sotheby’s or Christie’s were also associated with higher prices.
Professor Worthington said the 60 artists chosen to comprise the price index
By Heath Kelly were representative of various styles, including 19th century, modern and Aboriginal art.
He said falling property prices and the end of the bull market in equity meant artwork was presenting itself as an attractive investment alternative.
“The art market is now back to where it should be and on more of a par with the equity market, there isn’t a high degree of volatility that people expect there to be,”
he said.
“If you are in it for the long term, investment in Australian art can provide a solid return.”
We found the risk and return on leading Australian artists over the 30-year period was not very different to that
on the stock market.
New research proves Australian art is a good investment.
money’s Art sake for
1. John Coburn’s Kakadu 1990, oil on canvas, gift of John and Doreen Coburn
QUT Art Collection 2. Portrait of David Cilento c1951 by Margaret Cilento, oil on canvas, purchased with funds provided by Kay Bryan and Philip Bacon Galleries Pty Ltd
QUT Art Collection 3. Noel McKenna’s The alley way 1988, coloured inks, gift of Margaret McKenna
QUT Art Collection Visit QUT Art Museum at Gardens Point campus, 2 George Street, Brisbane. Free entry, open Tuesday–
Friday 10am–5pm, Wednesday until 8pm, Saturday–
Sunday 12–4pm, information 07 3864 5370.
2
3
9
QUTlinks February 2005 9
QUT Career Mentor Scheme
Marisa Vecchio is one of hundreds of industry professionals who have helped students with the transition from study to the workplace through the QUT Career Mentor Scheme.
The scheme began in 1992 and last year matched 482 students with mentors from fields as diverse as journalism, optometry, landscape architecture, nursing and surveying.
It is an Alumni initiative and managed by QUT Careers and Employment.
If you are interested in volunteering as a mentor, contact Sarah Vizer at QUT on 07 3864 2687.
MARISA Vecchio has a message for people desperate to balance their work and home life.
Whack the two together instead.
That’s because, realistically, she says one will always merge with the other.
And if that means introducing your 10-year-old to a board meeting,
so be it.
The 2004 Telstra Queensland Businesswoman of the Year, who recently added a QUT MBA to her credentials, says the reality for most people is that home and work will always merge ... and that can be a positive not a negative.
As CEO of Australia’s accreditation body for GP clinics, Ms Vecchio spends plenty of hours in her inner Brisbane office.
So do the kids of her 20 employees.
“It’s like a crèche sometimes,” she laughs.
But Ms Vecchio firmly believes it’s a win-win in today’s changing world.
“I place far more faith in a new generation of people coming through
By Mechelle Webb
Queensland’s Businesswoman of the Year finds harmony is the key to a healthy and happy life at home and at work.
who are very clear about their wants and wishes ... remuneration and working hours are not the most important things in their lives,” she said.
“It’s about flexibility and working in with people’s family commitments. Graduation ceremonies, school sports days ... these things happen during the day.”
It was flexibility that brought Ms Vecchio to QUT to study for a Master of Business Administration.
Her position as CEO of AGPAL (Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited) meant her time was valuable and she appreciated the CBD location and opportunity to study when it suited her.
“The formation and development of AGPAL provided a fantastic case study for my MBA and I also wanted to get that wider view of the world,” she said.
“I really enjoyed graduating more from postgraduate study than my undergraduate degree ... I suppose because I felt there was more sense of achievement.”
Her involvement with the university also inspired her to volunteer for the QUT Career Mentor Scheme – an initiative of the QUT Alumni Board which she recently joined.
Ms Vecchio began university life as a music student and still has a passion for the piano and the arts.
She said this outlet, combined with an active lifestyle that included pilates and playing with her 10-year-old daughter Isabella, helped keep her grounded away from the office.
One of Queensland’s child protection pioneers is part of a special QUT group.
Mrs Lavis said her interest in child protection was sparked early on in her teaching career when a little boy came to kindy with an untreated broken arm and she had to threaten to call an ambulance if his parents didn’t take him to a doctor.
“At that time, we didn’t even call it child abuse,” she said.
Twenty years ago, after much more teaching experience and postgraduate study, she became chair of Queensland Child Watch.
It’s a position she still holds and has included creating and producing five awareness videos aimed at preventing child abuse.
But although attitudes are changing, she said children were still being abused.
“I don’t think it’s lessened but I think people are much more aware and the community is much more accepting (of victims) and prepared to do something about the perpetrators,” she said.
Mrs Lavis was awarded an OAM in the Queen’s Birthday 2001 Honours for service to early childhood education and the child protection movement.
By Mechelle Webb
Golden de d n e en e girl
DAD didn’t react too well when Jennette Lavis announced that she wanted to become a kindergarten teacher.
“He said: All nice girls do arts,” she recalls now, with a laugh.
She won the battle however and found six other nice girls in her first-year class at the Brisbane Kindergarten Teachers’
College in 1950.
In the 55 years since, Mrs Lavis (nee East) has been a trained kindy teacher, travelled the world as one of Australia’s original backpackers, tutored student teachers, and been a leader in the child protection movement and pushed for childcare centre accreditation.
She’s also part of QUT’s “Golden Graduates” – people who completed their studies at one of QUT’s predecessor institutions at least 50 years ago.
And although QUT’s “real world” slogan didn’t eventuate until years later, Mrs Lavis said her three-year diploma at BKTC equipped her with a career for life.
“Even in the 1950s the course was excellent for its theory and practice in child development and early childhood education,” she said.
“We always had very strong practice teaching.
“I was lucky enough to have a wonderful mentor – Jean Ferguson from the Lady Gowrie Child Centre at St Pauls Terrace. I did my practice teaching there one day a week for six months.”
But while her college believed in the importance of early childhood education, Mrs Lavis said the community was slower to catch on – particularly back in the 1950s.
“The importance of the child’s early years was not recognised by the community at that time,” she said.
“People would say: Oh, I don’t know why you’re going to college for three years – you’re only minding the children.”
‘Goldies’ reunite
Calling all “Golden Graduates”!
If it’s more than 50 years since you finished your studies, QUT wants to hear from you.
A “Golden Graduate” is anyone who completed their studies during or before 1955 at one of QUT’s predecessor institutions – the Queensland Teachers Training College, Brisbane Kindergarten Teachers’
College or the Central Technical College.
The annual reunion attracted 560 alumni in 2004.
QUT has about 2000 graduates recorded for the years 1955 and prior.
The Alumni office is keen to hear from other golden graduates.
To register your name, contact Bill Maddock at QUT on 07 3864 1833.
Golden girl
By Heath Kelly
11
“SLIP, slop, slap” has justifiably become a mantra in Australia but reducing our amount of contact with the sun may have also diminished its significant health benefits.
QUT’s Dr Michael Kimlin emphasised he did not want the public to spend extra time exposed to sunlight but said, while it posed skin cancer dangers, ultraviolet light was needed for the body to produce Vitamin D, essential for healthy bones and nutrition.
Dr Kimlin, a QUT alumnus and one of the Queensland Government’s Smart State Fellows last year, is investigating this dual impact of ultraviolet light at QUT’s School of Public Health.
“I want to look at the relationship between Vitamin D and skin cancer and take it a step further and look at the positive as well as negative impacts of UV exposure,” Dr Kimlin said.
His three-year project will involve collecting satellite data on ozone and
science
New research suggests that limited sun exposure may bathe us in a favourable light after all.
cloud cover to model ultra-violet exposure throughout Queensland to see how it varies in time throughout different regions of the state.
“I then want to take those results and compare them to skin cancer rates and Vitamin D deficiencies in each of those areas,” Dr Kimlin said.
“I eventually want to develop maps of UV exposure all over Australia and take these hardline physics results and put a public health twist on it.”
Although skin cancer was the overriding concern Dr Kimlin said it was important to investigate the sun’s role in maintaining good health.
In the United States studies have indicated a lack of Vitamin D may be implicated in prostate, colon and breast cancer, although Dr Kimlin said further research needed to be conducted.
“We need to fill a gap where there is no information.”
Dr Kimlin’s own research shows low levels of Vitamin D in pregnant women may also affect the development of the foetus and could possibly be linked to learning disorders in children.
“We need to find a balance, we don’t want to start telling people to get in the sun but should we be telling them to take Vitamin D oral supplements? I want to find answers to these types of questions,”
he said.
“We don’t want to confuse the Sunsmart message but the sun does have a positive affect on our health.
“We haven’t really got enough information to show how much UV light we are exposed to and we need to stop guessing and get some hard numbers.”
Dr Kimlin recently returned from more than three and a half years as the scientific director of the world’s biggest Ozone and UV monitoring network at the University of Georgia in the United States.
The
sunshine
QUTlinks February 2005
GRAHAM Drummond and his daughter Vanessa are like two peas in a pod – both have forged a name for themselves in the business world, both are advocates for practical tertiary education and both are part of a growing tradition of family members attending QUT.
Dr Drummond is well known in Brisbane’s business community – he is currently the chair of private superannuation fund Sunsuper and the former chief executive officer of Allgas Energy.
He has had a long association with QUT from his Diploma of Civil Engineering and Graduate Diploma in Business Administration to being awarded a Doctor of the University in 1999. He’s also the Alumni Board representative on the University Council.
“The university has always had a reputation for being practically-oriented.
When I was studying civil engineering I could actually use what I was learning part-time at university in my daily work,”
he said.
And decades later when Ms Drummond was looking for a Master of Business Administration course, the story was the same.
“I’d done my undergraduate degree – a Bachelor of Business (Management) – at QUT as well but, like many teenagers, didn’t know what I wanted to do with it,”
she said.
“By the time I was ready to do an MBA to advance my career, I needed an institution recognised by employers, and that allowed me to use my work projects in assignments.”
Ms Drummond is now executive director of eCommStrategy, her own business which specialises in project management, marketing strategy and website design and usability.
Both agree the business world is much different now to Dr Drummond’s days
at Allgas – the days of job security and having one career in one organisation are long gone, and the internet has transformed the way we do business and who does business.
“When I started working if you didn’t have grey hair you generally didn’t know that much, but then the internet came along and suddenly if you had grey hair you didn’t know what you were talking about,” Ms Drummond said.
While Dr Drummond’s business experience has proven invaluable to his
daughter, the technological changes have forged a new-age link between the pair.
“Being an engineer, ‘windows’
were things you looked out of so the introduction of the internet and more advanced computer systems was a new experience and I’m lucky that Vanessa’s just a phone call away,” he said.
Ms Drummond laughed and said, “I just know when it’s one of those calls and say, What have you done now? Which button did you press?”
By Toni Chambers
after
another
generation
13
QUTlinks February 2005
Smoking:
the European lesson
KIRSTIN Ferguson’s energy fills the 17th floor Riverside office building where she works – a very modern, almost clinical space with magnificent views of Brisbane city.
By her own admission, the QUT law alumnus never imagined 10 years ago that she would be working for Deacons, a top national law firm.
Kirstin, now 31, started her career as an airforce cadet with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). While at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) she completed an arts degree in history with a final year for honours.
“I always wanted to study law, but I knew I had plenty of time and at 17 years of age, I was seduced by the thought of being paid to study and I also saw the defence force as being an exciting way to start my career,” she said.
“I started studying law externally a year after finishing my arts degree. I must be a glutton for punishment I know, but I loved it.”
Kirstin says the experiences she had with the RAAF were incredible and included flying in a Hawk fighter jet over the Welsh countryside with the RAF; riding on an open ramp of a Hercules at 250 feet; performing aerobatics in a light aircraft over Canberra and England; and flying at 50 feet in a US Black Hawk helicopter on exercise in remote Northern Territory.
Another highlight was being awarded a scholarship to study in London by the Chief of the Air Force during her honours year at ADFA.
“The greatest experiences though were being given responsibility at such a young age,” she said.
“At 20 I was in a senior leadership position at ADFA, and by 21 I had staff working for me who were often twice my age.”
Flying high
From jet fi ghters to a soaring career in a city law fi rm, this graduate’s feet have hardly touched the ground.
By Toni Chambers During the five years it took Kirstin to complete her law degree (with honours) she had two daughters and has memories of being eight months pregnant while sitting her law exams.
“That was crazy even for me. I actually think at one stage I was living in the UK, working full-time, studying externally part-time and pregnant, but never for a moment did I consider giving any of it up,” she said.
“You should never see anything as a disadvantage, as long as you take every opportunity as it arises and do what you are passionate about.”
She now works full-time at Deacons in a senior management role as its director of corporate services where she manages around 100 staff nationally and provides high-level executive support.
Kirstin said that while she did not miss practising law on a daily basis, she had recently
been able to combine her legal and military knowledge after being awarded a Churchill
Fellowship in 2003.
It allowed her to work in the US for two months researching ways of reducing litigation by bereaved families as a result of a death in
the Defence Force.
Her completed report is currently with the Senate Inquiry into Military Justice.
Walk Walk
WOMEN with postnatal depression can alleviate their symptoms by hitting the footpath with other mothers and babies in pram-walking exercise, QUT health researchers have found.
Dr Kylie Armstrong and Professor Helen Edwards from QUT’s Centre for Health Research (Nursing) found pram- walking was more effective in easing depressive symptoms than social support.
“As part of my PhD research, I ran two studies where half the women participated in a formal exercise group and the other half in an informal social support group, a bit like a playgroup,”
Dr Armstrong said.
“After three months, the women in the exercise program showed improved
fitness levels and went from being
‘moderately depressed’ to not being depressed at all.
“The women in the social support group didn’t change ... they were definitely still depressed.”
Dr Armstrong said while anecdotal evidence suggested women with postnatal depression found social support very important, the results of this study showed it did not actually change depression.
She said there was “something going on at a chemical level” with the women who participated in the exercise program and this required further investigation.
“The key to its success was the group nature of the program and the fact that these women were exercising three times a week at moderate intensity, guided by a professional,” Dr Armstrong said.
“By week six, you could see a complete shift in their views and the women in the exercise group also felt they were doing something positive for their children.
By Carmen Myler
wonders
Getting together for a stroll with their little ones has many health benefits for new mums.
“They started talking about things other than depression ... while in the weekly social support group the dynamic was very different, it was a lot more tense.”
The research findings showed that the women in the exercise group experienced weight loss, increased self-esteem and relief from symptoms of postnatal depression.
Dr Armstrong said postnatal depression was usually diagnosed in mothers with children aged between four and 18 months and symptoms included flat mood, anxiety, tearfulness, inability to get motivated, confusion, lethargy and tiredness, and disturbed sleep.
The researchers are now recommending that all child health centres implement pram-walking interventions for women with – or at risk of – postnatal depression.
** Women in the social support group were invited to participate in a pram-walking program at the study’s end.
15 15
By Carmen Myler AS Queensland aligns with the rest of
Australia when Prep Year is introduced into primary schools in 2007, QUT researchers will have played a large role in convincing parents and teachers that the change is beneficial.
Researchers from the Queensland Early Childhood Consortium based at QUT were selected by the state government to undertake an external evaluation of the Preparing for School trial.
Project director Associate Professor Karen Thorpe said the consortium found a full-time Prep Year was successful in promoting children’s social-emotional development, and their communication, numeracy, literacy and motor skills.
Professor Thorpe said, although Prep Year would not be compulsory, national trends showed around 97 per cent participation.
Prep Year will effectively replace part-time preschool, and some critics have expressed concern that a full-time program may be too much for young children.
Professor Thorpe said the full-time nature of prep was the key to its success as it offered children more continuity.
“A few children we saw in the course of the evaluation had up to nine different levels of care that they went to in a given week,” she said.
Professor Thorpe said Prep Year provided full-time care for children six months earlier than was currently available.
“This is indicative of a worldwide trend emphasising the importance of education
QUT education alumnus Vivienne Walsh was involved in the Prep Year trial at Good Shepherd Lutheran College in Noosaville, Queensland.
An experienced preschool, kindergarten and Year 1 teacher, Vivienne says she would like to continue teaching Prep Year.
She says Prep Year has been a wonderful experience for her as a teacher, as well as for the children and their parents.
“The children are ready for the five-day week and the continued learning from day to day is a wonderful gift for these enthusiastic little researchers,” she says.
“They can leave projects overnight and return to them with an interest for long periods”.
When is the right time to start formal schooling?
Researchers have helped policymakers fi nd the answer.
programs for three- and four-year-olds,”
she said.
The researchers found the children who progressed most slowly during prep were those who had not attended preschool and those who had only experienced home-based care, rather than varied group care.
“That tells us that group care is important in early years and age is not necessarily a strong predictor of readiness for school,” Professor Thorpe said.
“It’s not about maturity. It’s about social interaction and experience.
“I think parents’ decision-making goes beyond people wanting care for their children while they’re at work. They recognise that education is a big part of care and the two aren’t mutually exclusive.
school’s in
“They are concerned about issues such as the number of qualified teachers caring for their children.”
Acting head of QUT’s School of Early Childhood Associate Professor Sue Grieshaber said the introduction of Prep Year would be a positive for graduate teachers.
“It represents an opening up of career prospects for graduates in the early primary years because we will need almost double the number of prep teachers as preschool teachers because it’s full-time,” she said.
“We are hoping to work with Education Queensland to continue to track these children and teachers to monitor their long-term performance,” Professor Grieshaber said.
school’s in school’s in school’s in school’s in
wonders
QUTlinks February 2005
By Janne Rayner AFTER 10 years as QUT’s
Chancellor, Dr Cherrell Hirst AO was fondly farewelled by hundreds of staff at informal functions across three campuses in September.
Dr Hirst first joined QUT’s Council as a member in 1990 before being elected to the top job in 1994.
In many send-off tributes, the departing Chancellor was lauded for her governance, leadership and extraordinary people skills.
Her extended network of contacts in the external community was credited with helping to build the university’s external focus and enhancing QUT’s alumni program.
“She has given soul to this organisation,” one staff member said.
Dr Hirst described her chancellorship as a long and exciting journey.
On her appointment in 1994, Dr Hirst was a successful professional as the director of the Wesley Breast Clinic, a role she held for 17 years.
“Being Chancellor has been a very rich experience for me,” she said.
“The university has come such a huge distance in that time in many ways.
“Much of this achievement has been due to the university community and its sense of knowing where it wants to go and going there regardless.
“There has been a real willingness to grow, to change and improve to become a great institution.”
While Dr Hirst will be kept busy in retirement from QUT with a portfolio of board seats, she has refused to say goodbye.
“I will continue my association with QUT in different ways,” she said warmly.
Changing
Chancellors
After 10 years, a popular Chancellor makes way for a former state governor.
WHEN Major General Peter Arnison AC, CVO took the reigns as QUT’s new Chancellor last September, he said one of his greatest challenges would be to build on the university’s status quo.
“The new Council has inherited a university that is in very good shape,” the former Governor of Queensland said.
“This is a situation which gives us great comfort and we will work hard to build on the efforts of those who went before us.
“The university’s budgetary position is sound ... there is a good balance between physical and virtual environments ... and QUT’s Blueprint looks to the future without being too prescriptive.”
The former military commander, who retired from his vice-regal role in 2003, took up his new position for a period of five years with the overwhelming support of QUT Council.
“The university is very fortunate to have secured Major General Arnison, who is widely acknowledged for his strong and stable leadership,”
outgoing QUT Chancellor
Dr Cherrell Hirst said of his appointment.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake said that Peter Arnison had demonstrated a distinguished career in the Army over 37 years and had more recently filled many high-profile positions as one of the state’s most respected community leaders.
“He earned the respect of Queenslanders as Governor and now as a valued board member of many high-profile government, arts, multicultural, and corporate organisations,”
Professor Coaldrake said.
“As the recipient of honorary degrees from four Queensland universities, including an honorary doctorate from QUT in 1999, Major General Arnison has also already demonstrated his advocacy for higher education.”
The new Chancellor said he was already enjoying working with fellow members of Council, staff and students and looked forward to embarking on a program this year to meet many more members of the university community.
ond farewell
QUTlinks February 2005 17
By Heath Kelly WHEN Kim Walker was six months
pregnant, she was thinking of anything but winding down in preparation for her first child.
Instead she was confronting the challenge of starting a full-time university degree.
A motivated sole parent of two-year- old Jaidyn, Kim is now within sight of finishing her social science (human services) degree which she plans to use to help improve the lives of Indigenous Australians.
Kim admits it has been a hectic and at times trying couple of years since beginning her degree midway through 2002, to the point of having to defer one of her first exams because she had given birth only days before.
Making
the
A few hundred dollars may not seem like a fortune but for many low-income students it can make a lifetime of difference.
** A new QUT Equity Scholarship Fund has been launched which aims to secure $10 million over 10 years to support financially and socially disadvantaged students at QUT. QUT will contribute $2 for every $1 raised through this effort. If you would like to support the fund or want more information, contact the Alumni Office on 07 3864 1833.
While she adjusted to the demands of motherhood and study, the cost of caring for Jaidyn combined with university expenses started taking their toll towards the end of Kim’s first year at QUT’s Carseldine campus.
However, a $500 bursary provided by QUT’s Equity Endowment Fund helped Kim overcome the financial pressure at a time when she thought she would be unable to return to university and realise her ambition.
“The money was incredibly beneficial at the time as I was in a financial bind. All of a sudden I had the added expense of day care and the associated travel costs to take Jaidyn to day care, plus I had to get glasses, university textbooks, and the car registration was due as well – it all happened at the one time,” Kim said.
“Without the money from the bursary it would have been a major struggle and I don’t think that I would have been able to continue at university.”
Bursaries are funded by alumni and QUT staff through donations to the Equity Endowment Fund and are available to low-income students.
“It was hard to make the decision to apply because I thought that many
other students would be worse off than me, but I was under financial hardship and the money helped at a I time when I really, really needed it,” Kim said.
With only a few months left before she completes her degree, Kim is preparing for a career in community corrections and is passionate about changing the lives of Indigenous people caught up in the legal system.
“Very often, due to dysfunctional family environments the community corrections officer is the only stable influence in the lives of many people, which is a sad indictment on society,”
she said.
“My main ambition is to promulgate changes in policy that obviously does not work for Indigenous peoples.
“I’ve had the opportunity to get an education and I hope that this will afford me the ability to make changes, but I can only do that by starting at the beginning and earning respect as I work my way up to a level that I can initiate change – then people will listen to you.”
Based on her will to succeed, it does not appear anything is likely to stop her either.
difference
Prostate cancer testing breakthrough
QUT researchers testing complex mixtures of proteins present in semen appear to have found the means to develop a more reliable test for prostate cancer.
Testing patients with diagnosed prostate cancer and others who are healthy, the researchers have found particular proteins to be present in significantly different amounts between the two groups.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with the current approach for early detection of the disease being a serum (blood) test.
But Dr Terry Walsh – the director of research programs at QUT’s School of Life Sciences – said this test lacked specificity.
The research team from QUT and the Royal Brisbane Hospital are developing a diagnostic test using proteins identified in seminal fluid that could be more reliable than conventional methods.
Call for testing during labour
ALL pregnant women Australia-wide should be tested for Group B Streptococcus – a bacterium which can be life-threatening to newborn babies if transmitted during labour.
That’s the recommendation of QUT Masters researcher Karen Taylor who is conducting a major study of GBS prevalence rates in the Brisbane region.
Group B Streptococcus or GBS remains relatively unknown to the public in Queensland but infected newborn babies can develop fatal illnesses including meningitis, pneumonia, and
septicaemia while it can also be responsible for hearing or visual loss and spasticity.
GBS does not cause disease in healthy women. However, it can cause late infection in the newborns, and is also responsible for pre-term deliveries and still-births.
Ms Taylor, from QUT’s Faculty of Science, said GBS-colonised women were often not diagnosed and she was currently developing a rapid detection test for the bacteria which could be used on all expectant mothers during labour.
Stats help fi nd medical cure
STATISTICIANS at QUT are the first in the world to devise a new way of monitoring the progression of illnesses such as motor neurone disease and polio, paving the way for a cure.
Eight people in every 100,000 people die of motor neurone disease and, after diagnosis, have on average two years to live.
Head of the School of Mathematical Sciences Professor Tony Pettitt said motor neurones were the nerves that drove
muscles. While machines could record the responses from muscles, there had not been a way of counting them to determine how quickly a patient’s health was deteriorating.
“What we have been able to do is count accurately the number of neurones from someone who has an advanced form of the disease,” he said.
QUT researchers have been working in collaboration with the Royal Brisbane Hospital.
For full details of these and other QUT stories visit www.news.qut.edu.au
Research update
QUTlinks February 2005 19
By Heath Kelly
“SUSTAINABLE” and “sustainability” have become catchwords frequently used by government, business and the wider community as south-east Queensland continues to feel the strain of a population boom.
For QUT they are more than catchwords and a major new initiative will build on the wealth of expertise and research on sustainable issues that exists across a number of faculties.
The new venture, the Sustainable Living Initiative, is headed by former Department of State Development and Innovation executive director, Mike Hefferan.
The Initiative has been developed to influence government policy, business standards and community involvement.
It is proposed the Initiative will evolve into a QUT Institute, once important benchmarks have been met while undergraduate and postgraduate courses are also being developed.
Mr Hefferan said it was significant that the venture, which had strong faculty support, was about “sustainable living”
– not just “sustainable development”.
“The issue of sustainability has moved from fringe, sometimes green issues into the mainstream of political debate, business activity and community consciousness,” he said.
“In this changed and more complex environment, single solutions – be they buildings, energy, water or whatever, are not sufficient.”
Mr Hefferan said QUT would offer a more holistic response to sustainable
living through education, research and problem solving.
He said it was time the sustainability debate be rekindled because while easier tasks such as recycling and improved energy management had been dealt with, the time had come to explore more complicated issues.
Mr Hefferan said it was important to change attitudes at a community and local level as infrastructure in south- east Queensland struggled to deal with increased demand.
“This region is a real test case, we live in an area of rapid growth and increase in wealth, and infrastructure is under pressure.”
Mr Hefferan said the sustainability work undertaken by numerous faculties ensured the Initiative had a tremendous platform from which to launch.
“Built environment and engineering and science are obviously faculties that have traditionally underpinned sustainability research and education but the social sciences, education, law and business faculties are essential components,” he said.
A new QUT initiative will help take the strain off booming south-east
Queensland. squeeze
Experts on SEQ planning:
Professor Allan Layton – QUT’s head of Economics and Finance – co-authored a damning report on Queensland’s lack of public infrastructure in 2004 which called for an extra
$1.4 billion to be pumped into the state’s road and transport systems.
The Building our Future report found population and economic growth had outstripped infrastructure, with traffic congestion – and related economic, environmental and social costs – set to drastically worsen if funding was not boosted.
QUT transport specialist Professor Luis Ferreira also weighed into the argument by calling for the introduction of congestion tolls as part of a broader integrated transport strategy for south-east Queensland.
“If we are serious about reducing the negative impacts of congestion we need to embrace the concept of charging for the use of a scarce resource – road space,” Professor Ferreira, who lectures in the School of Civil Engineering, said.
“We’re not going to solve traffic problems by building roads and bypasses. We’re just shifting congestion around.”
Ease the
By Heath Kelly THE head of alumni at one of the world’s
top universities oversees an organisation which includes 88,000 fee-paying members.
Dr Keith Brant, as executive director of the Alumni Association at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), also heads an association which has a volunteer base of 6,500 and raises tens of millions of dollars for the university each year.
In contrast, QUT operates an open alumni forum for its graduates, staff and friends at no charge.
Even so, Dr Brant believes QUT’s alumni program is in a perfect position to establish itself as an industry leader in Australia.
Dr Brant recently visited QUT to share some of the secrets to running a successful alumni program.
With a staff of 50 and an annual budget of $6 million, UCLA’s alumni program is one of the giants of the industry in America, but Dr Brant said QUT had reason to be optimistic about the future of its own program.
“The area is clearly a start-up industry in Australia but QUT has strong fundamentals of an alumni program,” Dr Brant said.
“QUT has tremendous potential to build a close community and to create a
community atmosphere and everyone on campus has a role to play.”
Dr Brant conceded due to culture differences, it would take time for Australian alumni programs to evolve into the major institutions they are in the United States.
Many Americans have a special affinity with many of the higher education institutions from which they graduated and former UCLA students play an important role in helping to raise $US250 million a year.
“It is going to take decades to grow the alumni industry in Australia and to change the culture could take 50 years,” Dr Brant said.
All the way with
alumni
While the term ‘alumni’
is only starting to gain recognition in Australia, in the US the word is
synonymous with prestigous and powerful institutions.
“Alumni programs are about building relationships – you need to build them one at a time and to think strategically and realise the long-term potential of alumni.”
Dr Brant said it was vitally important to build a bridge between students and alumni by exposing them to the work being done at a university.
“You have to convince people that what you do is important and to continually remind them,” he said.
“Take people back and show them what you are doing – get the message out there about how the university is affecting society and that they have a reason to care.”
It is going to take decades to grow the alumni industry in Australia …
Do you know an outstanding QUT graduate?
If you know a graduate who has made a significant contribution to a profession and to the community, please nominate that person now for the 2005 QUT Outstanding Alumni (Graduate) Awards.
All graduates of QUT, QIT, BCAE, CTC and their predecessor institutions are eligible.
For more information and a nomination form contact 07 3864 2821 or visit
[email protected] or www.alumni.qut.edu.au.
Nominations close 15 April.
Turn your imagination into reality and make a real world of difference
With the continuing commitment of many benefactors, QUT will ensure excellence in the areas of teaching, research and community support.
The QUT Development Office welcomes the opportunity to discuss with alumni, staff and friends, their plans to include a gift in their will.
For further information, and to receive a free ‘Turning Points’
booklet, contact the Bequest Officer on 07 3864 2950, write to QUT Development Office, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane Qld 4001, or visit www.giving.qut.edu.au.
By Mechelle Webb
Alumni News
Receive information on:
■ Special offers
■ Alumni events and activities
■ QUT and alumni news To register email [email protected] How to contact the Alumni Office Visit: www.alumni.qut.edu.au Email: [email protected] Phone: +61 7 3864 1843 Fax: +61 7 3864 1514 Mail: QUT Alumni,
GPO Box 2434,
Brisbane Q 4001, Australia
Join our Alumni E-Newsletter
Alumni Hong Kong
Snorkelling trips, boat cruises, seafood dinners and a career event were enjoyed by Hong Kong alumni who benefited from the enthusiasm of the event team of the Hong Kong Alumni Chapter during
2004. The Chapter also hosted a special dinner for the QUT delegates to the Australian Universities International Alumni Convention in Hong Kong in December.
Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies Alumni Chapter
On November 26, the QUT Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies Alumni Chapter invited alumni and industry professionals to celebrate their third annual anniversary dinner.
The guest speaker for the evening was Jeff McMullen, former ABC Foreign Correspondent, Four Corners and Sixty Minutes reporter. In his address, Jeff proposed that the greatest threat to the wellbeing of Australian society was not terrorism but the crisis within our borders that traps Indigenous people in deep disadvantage on many fronts. Jeff outlined strategies that not-for-profit organisations may pursue to lead Australia to action on this issue.
With over 300 in attendance, this ‘flagship’ event provided a fitting climax to the activities undertaken by the chapter during the year.
Alumni news with Julie Mannion, Head of Alumni and Development Services
Alumni Chapters and Groups
2004 was a busy year with many chapter activities undertaken and three new chapters/groups established.
Members enjoy social, networking and professional development activities, as well as developing lifelong linkages between QUT and its alumni. Here’s a list of our current alumni chapters, clubs and groups:
Australia
Brisbane Executive Club
Brisbane Kindergarten Teachers’ College Graduates and Friends Association Inc.
China Study Tour Alumni Group Community of Former Staff
Information Professionals Alumni Chapter Law Alumni Chapter
Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies Alumni Chapter Sydney Alumni Chapter
Young Alumni Group
International
Hong Kong Alumni Chapter Indonesian Alumni Chapter Malaysian Alumni Group Singapore Alumni Chapter Taiwan Alumni Chapter
For more information, visit: www.alumni.qut.edu.au or contact the Alumni Office.
Alumni Board
QUT welcomes the 2004–2007 committee of the QUT Alumni Board. The Alumni Board represents the interests of graduates through its influence in the university decision-making processes.
Brett Hooker Elected Alumni Board President Dr Graham Elected Alumni representative
Drummond on QUT Council
Marie-Clare Grady Elected Alumni representative on QUT Council
Morag Hocknull Elected Alumni Board Member Michael Ryan Elected Alumni Board Member Mervyn Ng Alumni Board President’s Nominee Michael Bowers Vice Chancellor’s Nominee Rebecca Sparrow Vice-Chancellors’ Nominee Marisa Vecchio Vice-Chancellors’ Nominee A special thank you to the outgoing members: Alan Chambers, Ann-Maree McDiarmid, Malcolm Thatcher, Peter Crooke and Alison Steel for their involvement and commitment to the Board during the previous two-year term of the Board.
QUTlinks February 2005 21
More accolades for a top alumnus
Congratulations to 2004 Alumni Award winner Rodney Cocks CSM who has been named Victoria’s Australian of the Year for 2005. At 27, Mr Cocks is currently working in his third role with the United Nations as a Senior Security Advisor, working to restore democracy to Afghanistan. Mr Cocks holds a Bachelor of
Law from QUT, a Bachelor of Commerce and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment.
More accolades for a top alumnus
to Afghanistan. Mr Cocks holds a Bachelor of
