TC Beirne School of Law - University of Queensland

DEAN’S REPORT
The past two years have represented a period of substantial growth and
notable achievements for the TC Beirne School of Law.
We embarked upon on a formal strategic
planning exercise within the School
in 2008 and undertook an extensive
consultation process, both formal and
informal, which allowed us to take the
views of all our stakeholders, both internal
and external, into account. This process
guided the formulation of our vision of
what this Law School is about and where
it is going, a vision that is shared by all of
those involved - the School and its staff,
the University, and the profession.
I am pleased to report that there were
many significant developments in 2008
and 2009 which not only enhanced our
vision for the School but also fulfilled a
number of long-term strategic objectives
and consolidated our position as one of
the top law schools in Australia.
Page 2 | TC Beirne School of Law Biennial Report 2008-2009
Teaching and Learning
The School has a long and proud tradition
of being Queensland’s leading law
school. In 2008 and 2009 over 60% of
Queensland Year 12 students with OP
scores of 1 - 3 seeking to enter law chose
the TC Beirne School of Law. Once they
enter the School, these students continue
to perform at the very highest levels.
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Students from the TC Beirne School
of Law have received 10 Queensland
Rhodes Scholarships since 2003.
In 2008 the honour went to Anna
Kloeden (with Robert Mullins also
being awarded an Australian-at-
Large Rhodes Scholarship) and in
2009 to Caitlin Goss.
Our students regularly win University
Medals which are awarded for
outstanding academic merit.
TC Beirne mooting teams continue to
dominate national and international
mooting competitions.
Employer demand for TC Beirne
graduates continues to be extremely
strong with the employment rate of
our graduates being far higher than
any other law school in Queensland.
The quality of the students of the School
is matched only by the quality of the
teachers. Over the years, our staff have
been nominated for, and have also won,
numerous national teaching awards and
prizes. In 2008, Drs Craig Forrest and
Clare Cappa both won UQ Citations
for Teaching Excellence. In 2009 Mrs
Margaret Stephenson won the inaugural
Staff Award in the UQ Vice-Chancellor’s
Awards for Internationalisation and also
received a UQ Citation for Outstanding
Contribution to Student Learning.
Research
The School has a reputation as a centre
of research excellence that conducts
and disseminates leading-edge research
across a diverse range of legal fields. The
capacity of the School now rivals that of
any other leading Australian law school
and in particular fields is second to none. I
am pleased to report that 2008 and 2009
have been years of outstanding success
for the School and its research staff.
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External research grant applications
have almost doubled over the past
two years, leading to significant
achievements. Large Australian
Research Council grants were
awarded to Professor Brad Sherman
and Dr David Morrison; Associate
Professor Heather Douglas (with
Associate Professor Nic Lintzeris
from the Sydney Medical School) was
awarded a grant from the National
Drug Law Enforcement Research
Fund; and the Fulbright Foundation
made an award to Associate
Professor Robert Burrell and Ms
Kimberlee Weatherall.
Associate Professor Andreas
Schloenhardt (2008) and Dr
David Morrison (2009) received a
prestigious UQ Research Excellence
Award – few of which are made
outside of the sciences.
Overall, the research performance of the
Law School has gone ahead in leaps and
bounds. In the last four years, our research
productivity has increased by over 40%.
This is quite an achievement in the face of
falling government funding and increasing
teaching loads.