Issue 05. 5 May 2008 - UWA Staff - The University of Western Australia

Graduations
reflect the
strength
of our
University
Amidst major national discussions last month on higher
education, on campus there was significant reinforcement of the
University’s primary mission through our autumn graduation
ceremonies at which more than 2,750 students received bachelor
degrees, diplomas, masters degrees and higher degrees
The awards included 75 PhDs from across all faculties, as well as degrees and
diplomas to 660 graduates from business, more than 200 engineers, 109
doctors and 98 teachers.
These graduation events, held in autumn and spring, remain a most important
reminder of the human realities of our University environment and provide very
tangible evidence of our contribution to society. Our highly-talented graduates
are destined to become leaders in business, industry, government, academia
and the community more generally.
Along with the success of students, our graduation ceremonies also recognise
the extraordinary work of individuals within our broader community through the
awarding of Honorary Degrees. These are offered to those who have provided
distinguished service or reached significant attainments in the areas of
community and public service, private sector engagement, international links,
academic achievement, or contribution to the arts.
At our autumn graduations, 11 such honorary degrees were awarded to:
Mr Brettney Fogarty (Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters)
Mrs Annie Fogarty (Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters)
Ms Sara Macliver (Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music)
Mr Kerry Hill (Honorary Degree of Doctor of Architecture)
Mr John Poynton (Honorary Degree of Doctor of Commerce)
Mr Terry Enright (Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science in Agriculture)
Dr James Ross (Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science)
Professor The Honourable David Malcolm (Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws)
Ms Erica Smyth (Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters)
Dr Brian Lawn (Honorary Degree of Doctor of Engineering)
Dr Richard Pestell (Honorary Degree of Doctor of Medicine).
The success of our honorary degree recipients in Australia and on the global
scene, along with the extremely high quality of all our graduates, reminds us
that they are the greatest reflection of the strength of our University and its
contribution to society.
Along with the graduation ceremonies last month, there was also wider
interaction with the community through the University’s annual Parents’
Welcome for the parents of new undergraduate students.
A record number of more than 1,130 parents responded to our invitation and
the significance of the event is reflected in the fact that by far the majority of
parents (some 87 per cent) indicated that their son or daughter was their first
child in their family to study at The University of Western Australia. As a result,
for most parents, this was their first visit to the University.
The University owes its thanks to the staff who volunteered their Saturday
afternoon to present at information sessions and to act as tour guides for the
Parents’ Welcome.
Royal
address
Professor Jorg Imberger has
been invited by His Royal
Highness the Duke of Edinburgh
to speak in London.
The Director of the Centre for Water
Research will be giving the prestigious
RSA (Royal Society for Encouragement
of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce)
Prince Philip Lecture, delivered annually
by world leaders.
Professor Imberger is expected to give
a global perspective on challenges in
water management in the 21 st century.
He will dine at the 250-year-old RSA,
one of the UK’s oldest and most
respected think tanks, with Prince
Philip, who will chair the event.
The lecture will be broadcast live on the
RSA’s website, with an MP3 available
to download afterwards.
Professor Imberger’s audience will be a
mixture of RSA Fellows and nonspecialist
members, plus others
working in the field, policy makers and
academics.
His lecture follows RSA events featuring
prestigious speakers such as Kofi
Annan, Al Gore, Amartya Sen and
Jeffrey Sachs.
“Professor Imberger’s invitation to
address the RSA is a reflection of the
international excellence attained by
many of our researchers,” said Vice-
Chancellor Professor Alan Robson.
“Although our University is in one of the
world’s most isolated cities, it has a lot
to contribute on solving some of the
global community’s most urgent
problems, including water use.”
Professor Imberger will be presenting
the Prince Philip Lecture at RSA House,
Central London, at 6pm on
Wednesday, June 11.
Alan Robson Vice-Chancellor
4
UWA NEWS 5 May 2008
The University of Western Australia