Autumn Ordinary Meeting 2019 - Friday 22 March 2019 The University Club of Western Australia - Convocation of UWA Graduates
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Autumn Ordinary Meeting 2019 Friday 22 March 2019 The University Club of Western Australia
Cover: Conrad Hogg (106th Guild President) and Doug McGhie (Warden) Convocation Day 2019 All photos by Manny Tamayo Photography
Agenda
The Autumn Ordinary Meeting of the Convocation of The University of Western Australia,
6.30pm, Friday 22 March 2019, The University Club of Western Australia
1. Welcome
2. Apologies
3. Minutes of the Spring Ordinary Meeting held on Friday 21 September 2018
4. Amendments and motion of acceptance of minutes
5. Business arising from the minutes
6. Correspondence
7. Results of Convocation Elections for Warden, Deputy Warden,
Members of the Council of Convocation and one Member to Senate
8. Vice-Chancellor’s Report
9. Guild President’s Report
10. Warden’s Report
11. Convocation Officer’s Report
12. Other Business
13. Keynote Address: 100 years of Rowing at UWA – Traditions and New Horizons
14. Q & A session
Supper
Complimentary canapés and drinks until 9.30pm
convocation.uwa.edu.au 3
Minutes Spring Ordinary Meeting 21 September 2018 The Second Ordinary Meeting of Convocation was held on Friday 21 September 2018 commencing at 6:30pm in University Club of WA. The meeting was attended by the following graduates and guests. Ian Abbott, Chacko Abraham, Thankam Abraham, Raoul Abrutat, Rudy Agostini, Angelina Agostini, Kent Anderson, Melanie Ariyaratne, Ruth Arnel, Diana Atkinson, Ahmad Bagbag, Rachima Bannerman, Bruce Barblett, Mary Basley, Cathy Tang and guest arriving at the meeting Wayne Beaumont, Evalyn Beaumont, Greg Benjamin, Jill Benn, Marilyn Bennet-Chambers, Aileen Bennett, Danielle Berry, Murphy, Tony Natale, Ekta Nathoo, Ekta Nathoo, Ekta Nathoo, Peter Bibby, Peter Bibby, Peter Bibby, Simon Biggs, Warwick Ainalem Nega, Lai Yu Newell, Nee Nee Ong, James Paparo, Boardman, Robert Boggs, Astrid Boggs, Maureen Boland, Terry Parks, Juanita Perez, Anne Pickett, Theresa Plunkett-Hill, Peter Brearley, Justin Brockett, Jean Brodie-Hall, Bradley Joan Pope, John Quealy, Dan Quirante, Kaye Regan, Alex Reid, Buckland, Stuart Bunt, Lesley Cala, Lesley Cala, Maria Calabro, Trevor Ridgwell, Jim Rowlands, Johan Salim, Mona Salim, Blair Campbell, Bruce Campbell, Bruce Campbell, Bruce Suellen Sanzone, Richard Scarff, Richard Scarff, Richard Scarff, Campbell, Geri Campbell, Cindy Campbell, Maria Carvalho, Jennifer Searcy, Enid Sedgwick, Susan Sharpe, Philip Shields, Renate Chandler, Kok-Foo Chang, Tshung Hui Chang, Daniel Hilary Silbert, Hilary Silbert, Brian Sova, Rosemary Spark, Chegwidden, Tat Meng Chow, Laurence Coleman, Malcolm Louise Sparrow, Louise Sparrow, Louise Sparrow, Cornelia Collier, John Collingridge, Mary Conroy, Hilary Cook, Helen Staats, Jonathan Strauss, Tony Stroud, Pat Stroud, Shane Cripps, Kevin Crombie, Devon Cuneo, Norma Curnow, Jocelyn Stuart, Denise Sullivan, Penny Sutherland, Kang Tam, Ernie Curnow, Brett Davies, Simon Dawkins, John Day, Lynne De Tan, Joel Tan, Cathy Tang, John Taplin, Tony Tate, Tony Tate, Peras, Christiane Demesa, Christopher Denby, Brian Devine, Ray Tauss, Ray Tauss, Ray Tauss, Ethan Taylor, Tracy Taylor, Ian Duckham, Anne Dunne, Nola Earnshaw, Greta Edwards, Brenda Tournier, Pauline Tremlett, Sheila Walker, Ian Warner, Mark Edwards, Johanne Eldridge, Mark Elliott, Angela Elizabeth Wetherell, John Willox, Anne Willox, Georgina Wilson, Evangelinou-Yiannakis, Jim Everett, Jocelyn Everett, Peter Jing Zhi Wong, Edit Wood, Paulina Wroblewski, Madeline Wu, Farr, Arthur Ferres, Elizabeth Feutrill, Marie Finucane, Keith Zhisheng Xie, Allen Yeow, and Mark Zhang Forbes, Dawn Freshwater, Mog Gadsdon, Michaele Gardiner, Chantelle Gaskell, Kathie Gates, Agi Gedeon, Tim Gibbney, Joel Gilman, Paul Gordon, Susan Graham-Taylor, Barry Green, Helen Green, Jenny Gregory, Jim Gunson, Anne Gunson, Maria Harries, Jennifer Harris, Jennifer Harris, Nicholas Hasluck, Stephen Hastings, Susan Hastings, Patricia Hatch, Patricia Hatch, Patricia Hatch, Patricia Hatch, Dorothy Hatch, Melissa Hetherington, Jo Hiller, Wendy Hillier, Jennifer Hole, Janet Holman, Walter Horeb, Ruari Jack Hughes, Ruari Jack Hughes, Ruari Jack Hughes, Maureen Humpage, Gary Jeneson, Warren Kerr, Chneoh Hooi Khor, Susan King, Nelly Kleyn, Joanna Knowles, Max Kousins, Dean Laslett, Eric Lawson, Jill Lawson, Megan Lee, Minglong Li, Jiwei Li, Lilie Lilie, Ian Lindsay, Yuyi Liu, Freda Livingston, Poh Loh, Frances Lutze, Richard Lyon, Sandra-Lee Mackey, Robert MacMath, Anne Maughan, Rose McAleer, Thomas McCleery, Carolyn McCleery, Doug McGhie, Lynne McGuigan, Lyn McKeaveney, John Melville-Jones, Ken Convocation members Zhisheng Xie, Paul Gordon and Convocation Michael, Nikolaos Millios, Eve Morrissey, Dianne Moxham, John Councillor Brett Davies 4 The University of Western Australia
The following members of Convocation asked
that their apologies be recorded.
Hugo Acosta Martinez, Ralph Addis, Diana Adler, Kenneth
Ahmat, Rida Ahmed, Fiona Allan, Lyneve Amoore, Maureen
Anderson, Carlo Andreacchio, Michael Andrews, Paola
Anselmi, Paul Appleton, Max Aravena-Roman, Isabel Arevalo-
Vigne, Patrick Armstrong, Francis Arndt, Brendan Arrowsmith,
Maki Aruga, Ajanthy Arulpragasam, Diane Atkinson, Rosemary
Atwell, Koya Ayonrinde, Vivien Bainbridge, Deborah Baker,
Paul Baker, Sue Bant, Nicolas Baranowski, Annette Barbetti,
May Quin Barker, Shelley Barker, Cynthia Barrett, Michael
Bartosiak, Malcolm Basell, Peter Batchelor, Estie Bav, Jason
Beard, Tully Bennett, Haia Ber, Rodney Beresford, Andrew Graduates reviewing the meeting minutes.
Berryman, Brian Betts, Enzo Biagioni-Froudist, Morgan Biggs,
Mas Tasha Binte Abdul Malek, Rowena Birrell, Roger Blackett, Carlo Fini, Michael Firth, Franz Fischer, Chris Fisher, Monica
Anne Blanchard, Dan Blue, Lynda Blum, William Blumer, Amy Flattery, John Fletcher, Sandra Fletcher, Margaret Floyd,
Blundell, June Boddy, Luke Bone, Kathleen Bonus, Angharad Louise Flux, Chris Forlin, Paul Fox, Nathan Francis, Rina Fu,
Booth, Jessica Boughton, Elyse Bourgault Du Coudray, Shih Ching Fu, Elizabeth Furlong, Geoff Gallop, Michael Ganon,
Deborah Bowen-Smith, Rebecca Bowles, Sue Boyd, Amanda Brent Gardner, Carrie Gardner, Witold Generowicz, Rohan
Bracewell, Diana Bradbury, Felicity Bradshaw, Anne Brearley, Gengatharen, Sean Geoghegan, Cal Gerard, Nick Gerrard,
Ian Brebner, Robert Bredemeyer, John Bremner, Anthony Hanneka Gerritsen, Marina Gerzic, Leisa Gibbons, Zhane
Bright, Errol Broome, Nike Browning, Don Buchanan, Dianne Gibson, Lynton Giles, Cliff Gillam, John Gladstones, Maureen
Budd, Paul Bumbak, Rick Bunn, Sebastian Bunney, Peter Glancy, Diana Glenn, Brian Goddard, John Godfrey, Mayford
Burke, Peter Burke, Joe Butorac, Brian Byrne, John Caddy, Godfrey, Kevin Goh, Barbara Good, Felicity Gooding,
David Cairns, Liza Campbell, Alison Carlin, Elodie Caro, Rachel Kamulsen Gowrea, Lloyd Graham, Christian Grainger, Dieter
Carpenter, Mary Carr, Georgia Carragher, John Carrigg, Diane Grant-Frost, Cliff Green, David Greenhill, Pamela Gregor, Peter
Carroll, Joan Carroll, Craig Carter, George Cash, Rachel Gregson, Judith Griffin, Emily Gunson, Claire Hadley, Silvana
Catterson, Sonia Cattley, Robert Cavanagh, Karyn Chan, John Ham, Kim Hames, Alec Hand, Helen Hankey, Chris Harkness,
Chater, Mun Cheang, Xinyi Chen, Anne Chester, Michael Joan Harlow, Graham Harmsworth, John Harriott, Arthur
Chester, Victor Cheung, Terence Chia, Virginia Christie, Tianlun Harris, Max Harris, Reinhold Hart, Nadya Haryanto, Dennis
Chu, Chew Chua, Bryna Chuah, David Churchill, Sylvia Haskell, Alan Hawkins, Scott Hawkins, Kerry Hawley, Charity
Churchill, Megan Clark, Milton Clark, Alan Clarke, Graeme Haynes, Peter Healy, Milanna Heberle, Frank Hedges, Terry
Clarke, Linda Clayton, Lynette Clayton, Harold Clough, Douglas Heenan, Trevor Height, Pat Henry, Ricardo Herrera Ayala, Keith
Clyde, Harvey Coates, Rosemary Coates, Greg Cockram, Hester, Geoffrey Hewett, Greg Higham, Tom Higham, Barbara
Samuel Cohen-Cooke, Simone Collins, Tim Colmer, Alfio Hill, Kerry Hill, Murray Hill, Marcus Hitch, Mal Hodsdon, William
Contarino, Nils Convert, Gregory Cook, Danica Cook, Mathew Hoff, Gary Hoffman, Donald Hogben, Joyce Hogben, Janet
Cooper, Roderick Cooper, Tony Cooper, Peter Copley, Steve Holmes à Court, Peter Hopwood, Jo Horgan, Hugh Houston,
Coppens, Vida Corbett, Rochelle Cornell, Diana Corston, Bette Howell, Zhiwen Huang, Robert Hughes, Terence Hunt,
Phyllis Costello, Stephen Costley, George Costopoulos, Margot Zoe Hyde, Peter Hyman, Ali Ismail, Anne Ismail, Ungku Ismail,
Cox, Terry Craig, Jane Crawford, Julie Crews, Keith Croker, Elliott Jackson, Deborah Jackson-Porteous, Verghese Jacob,
Malcolm Crosbie, Joanne Cruickshank, Adrienne Cullity, Brian Janes, Ian Janes, Douglas Janney, Gregory Jarosch,
Penelope Cuthbert, Ivana D’Acunto, Matthew Davey, Dean Dianne Jarvis, Bradley Johnson, Brian Johnson, Brian
Davidson, Richard Davies, John Davis, Judith Davis, Judith Johnson, Don Johnson, Doris Johnson, Henry Johnston, Liz
Davis, Steve Davison, Christine Davy, Reginald Dawson, David Johnstone, Barry Jones, Darrell Jones, Evan Jones, Janice
de Hoog, Geoffrey Dean, John Dean, Bernice Dent, Natasha Jones, Maxwell Jones, Patricia Jones, Patricia Kailis, Peter
Dewani, Mike Dilworth, Amelia Dixon-Pugh, Diane Downham, Kalmund, Jansje Karajas, John Karajas, Bill Kean, Anne
Elizabeth Dowson, Jacqueline Doyle, George Drew, Elle Keith-Fraser, Dave Kelly, Jim Kemp, Irene Kempa, Tom Kendall,
Drummond, Judith Drummond, Jamie Drury, Alexia Drygan, Lorelei Kerr, Jonathan Khoo, George Kingsley, Melinda
Cleo Drygan, Paul Duncan, Tom Durkin, Wayne Duthie, Kinnane, Peter Klinken, Joseph Kong, Julia Kovesi, Valerie
Timothy Dymond, Katrise Eager, Rod Eagleton, Linda Earl, Krantz, Edward Kucharski, Rajendra Kurup, Graham Ladyman,
Peter Eastlake, Gary Eddy, Basil Edwardes, Cyril Edwards, Mable Lam, Christopher Lancucki, Louis Landau, Rona
Hartley Edwards, Adrian Egginton, George Eichinski, Sue Ellery, Landquist, Bruce Langford, Jenny Larner, Des Lascelles,
Bruce Elliott, Maurice Ellvey, Laura Emery, Henry Esbenshade, Adrian Lau, Dillon Lau, Ian Laurance, Lisa Le Faucheur, Steven
Judy Esmond, Ben Evans, Ernest Fardin, Adele Farina, Richard Lee, Will Lee, Christian Lemnell, Kenneth Leung, Steve Lieblich,
Farrell, Gus Ferguson, Lynette Fernandes, Renae Fernandez, Janice Lim, Arvid Linde, Daryl Lindsay, Antony Lo, Michael
convocation.uwa.edu.au 5
Lochore, Miriam Lochore, Owen Loneragan, Virginia Longley, Reinhold, Zarrin Siddiqui, Darren Simmons, Genevieve Jan Lord, Neville Loudon, Tony Lourensen, Robin Lovegrove, Simpson, Su Sirr, Richard Sisson, Stephanie Slanzi, Yiing Nicola Lucano, Dorothy Lucks, Steve Lukan, Tara Lukan, Sleight, Marielle Sloss, Melanie Sloss, Peter Smedley, Michael Waverley Lynch, Angus MacDonald, Catherine MacDonald, Smith, Peter Smith, Philip Smith, Rodney Smith, David Malcolm Macmillan, Helen Maddocks, Jack Mah, Tom Maher, Snowdon, Alberta So, Esther Sohn, Hamid Sohrabi, Coralie Jasmina Malkoc, Althea Malligan, John Malone, Stephanie Solomon, Marcus Solomon, Jayantha Somasundaram, Maltman, Stephen Malyniak, Thomas Man, Uday Manchanda, Alexander Song, Dino Spagnoli, Maurie Sparkman, Laurence Roy Manchester, Clive Mariano, Bill Marmion, Loisette Marsh, Spencer, Stephen Spiers, Pat Spillman, Paul St John, Judith Gordon Marshall, Peter Marshall, Glenda Martinick, Audrey Stephens, Deborah Stephenson, Michelle Stephenson, Ric Martins, Chris Massey, Katherine Massey, Danielle Masson, Stern, Damien Stevens, Sandra Stevenson, Jan Stewart, Ra Josephine Masters, Julie Matheson, Joyce Matson, Trevor Stewart, Trevor Still, Pauline Stone, Peter Strickland, Marina Mazzucchelli, Narelle McAuliffe, Ian McCall, Bruce McCallum, Sucur, Murray Swain, Matthew Swinbourn, Melissa Symonds, Wendy McCallum, Damien McCann, Gordon McColl, Moira David Synnott, Monika Szalai, Stella Tagbo, Simon Taheri, McDermont, Hayden McGrath, Michael McGuire, Douglas Megan Talmage, Adam Tan, James Tan, Jason Tan, Lee Tan, McInnes, Nancy McKenzie, Sharon McKerrow, Kate McMurtrie, Richard Tan, Ankang Tang, Anqiang Tang, Noel Taylor, Roger Jacqueline McNally, George McRae, Connor McShane, Tim Taylor, Michael Teare-Williams, Irianto Tedja, Nadia Tedja, Kai Mead, Arpad Mencshelyi, Geetha Mendis, Rose Michael, Benita Jie Teoh, Diana Teplyj, Adrian Thomas, David Thomas, Jeremy Milicich, Virginia Miller, John Millett, Katherine Mills, Robyne Thomas, May Thomas, Sally Thomas, Roger Thompson, Neville Millward, Conor Mines, Michael Mischin, Darryn Mitchell, Peta Threlfall, Julia Thurloe, Ray Thurloe, Stephen Tilinger, Daina Monley, Jessica Moore, Michele Moore, Greg Moriarty, Patricia Timermanis, Catherine Tiong, Simon Tomkins, Wendy Tomlin, Mulcahy, Bruce Mullan, Paul Mullins, Peter Munro, Joe Murphy, Geoff Totterdell, David Tout, Malcolm Treadgold, Domenic Madeleine Murphy, Peter Murphy, Denise Murray, Malcolm Trimboli, Mathew Trinca, Kathy Troup, Charles Tucak, Gillian Murray, Charmaine Myers, Caitlin Nagle, Elena Nattrass, Chris Tucak, Michael Tuke, Gyula Turchanyi, Clinton Turner, Leisa Neretlis, Charlse Newman, Joshua Ngai Mun Ng, Kenneth Ng, Turner, David Turpin, Nikolas Unger, Prague Unger, Susan Krystal Ng, Aik Chern Ng, Kim Guan Ng, My-Hanh Nguyen, Unger, Grace Utting, Jonathan Utting, Michael van Koesveld, Shiah Nguyen, John Nicholas, Patricia Nixon, Pat Nottle, John Vann, Richard Vaughan, Marika Vicziany, Eva Vlahov, Christine O’Brien, Liam O’Bryan, Ellen O’Connor, Ilse O’Ferrall, Van-Van Vu, Petar Vujovic, Brendan Waddell, Diana Wald, Jim Ban-Ban Ong, Chow-Loo Ong, Chuan Ong, Nicole Ong, Wall, Elizabeth Waller, Brian Walsh, Lionel Ward, Lisa Ward, Angeline Ong, Charlotte Openshaw, Emma O’Shaughnessy, Robin Warren, Ken Watson, Peter Wearne, Cara Webling, Lucy O’Sullivan, Roger Overmeire, Daniel Ow, Justine Oxley, Maxwell Weedon, Cornelis Wegman, Pelham Weir, Jason Wells, Marjan Oxley, Bardia Paki, Kerry Paki, Silvano Palladino, Sally Martin West, Patricia Weston, Ryan Whiddett, Kevin White, Pamberger, Stacey Papa, Dina Papas, Rod Parker, Serena Phyl Wilkin, Aston Williams, Janet Williams, Ken Williams, Brian Parker, Merle Parkes, Trevor Parry, Brian Partridge, Kim Willis, Rod Willox, Sean Wilson, Caroline Winwood, John Wolfe, Paterson, Michael Paterson, Alistair Peacock, Chris Peacock, Wendy Wolfe, Christopher Wong, Desmond Wong, Jian-Ning Ian Peacock, Anna Pembroke, Steven Pereira, Stan Perron, Wong, Shu-Ning Wong, Vanessa Wong, William Wong, Rebecca Rayma Pervan, Zeke Pervan, Gabriela Pestell, Beverley Pether, Wood, Graham Wood, Colin Woods, Mary Wright, Robert Michael Pether, Diana Phang, Charm Phillips, Stephen Phillips, Wright, Ben Wyatt, Jeannette Wyber, John Yates, Mary Ann Ray Piesse, Bernadette Pilkington, Margaret Pinchback, Jeffrey Yeats, John Yiannakis, Soon Min Yong, David Young, Michael Pinkham, Conrad Pires, Terry Pitsikas, Bill Plozza, Barbara Yung, Shahnaz Zeinali, Kehan Zhu, Vera Zirojevic Plummer, Julian Polain, Tony Poli, Fiona Poole, William Poole, and Ann Zuber Ian Porter, Anthony Postle, Mark Pownall, Cheryl Praeger, Christina Pranata, Daryl Pranata, Neville Pringle, Janet Ms Juanita Perez, Convocation Officer as Executive Officer Pritchard, Aylene Quartermaine, Donalda Ramsden, Lyndsay Randall, Peter Randell, Gaetano Rando, Sally Rankin, Kristie Read, Terry Redman, Don Reid, Dennis Reynolds, Ronald Richards, Grace Richardson, John Rickard, Ann Rigg, Noreen Riordan, Norm Roberts, Della Robinson, Jamie Robinson, Kerry Rollo, Mary Rose, Mary Roskams, Gwyneth Rothols, Robin Routley, Gesa Ruge, Jeffrey Russell, David Ryan, Henry Ryan, David Sadler, Mihaela Safta, Barry Saker, Jenny Sales, Brian Salisbury, Robin Salter, Bill Sands, Michael Schaper, Deryck Schreuder, Michelle Schwager, Diana Scott, John Scott, Tony Scott, Virginia Scott, Amanda Seabrook, Margaret Seares, Roger Seares, Peter Searle, Leah Segal, John Seotis, Nicole Seyler, Khilna Shah, Duncan Shearwood, Helen Shilkin- 6 The University of Western Australia
Warden of Convocation, Dr Doug McGhie welcomes all to the meeting
1. WELCOME 3. MINUTES OF THE AUTUMN ORDINARY
MEETING 2018
In opening the Spring Ordinary Meeting for 2018, the Warden of
Convocation, Dr Doug McGhie, welcomed the following guests: A copy of the minutes of the Autumn Ordinary Meeting 2018
• Former Chancellor and former Governor Dr Ken Michael held on Friday, the 23rd March 2018 appeared at Attachment A
AC CitWA of the Spring Ordinary Meeting 2018 booklet.
• Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dawn Freshwater;
• Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simon Biggs; 4. AMENDMENTS AND MOTION OF
• The 2018 Guild President Megan Lee; ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES
• The Deputy Warden of Convocation, Dr Joan Pope OAM;
• The Immediate Past Warden, Adjunct Professor Warren No amendments required to the minutes. The motion to
Kerr AM accept the minutes of the Autumn Ordinary Meeting held on
• Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Community & Engagement) Friday, the 23rd March 2018 was proposed by Dr Joan Pope
Professor Kent Anderson; OAM and seconded by Mrs Pauline Tremlett. The motion
• Members of the UWA Senate; was carried.
• Members of Convocation Council; and
• all the members of Convocation, including their guests 5. BUSINESS ARISING
and friends.
The Warden reported that in keeping with previous feedback
The Warden then formally declared the meeting open that the opportunity to view the Agenda papers prior the
at 6.34pm. meeting is valued by our members, the Council has continued
this process and the agenda papers have been available
2. APOLOGIES online through a link that was provided in the email reminder
sent out in the last week.
The Warden noted apologies from:
• Chancellor, The Hon. Robert French AC Q&A
• Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) Professor David Sadler; Following the last Ordinary Meeting, the Convocation Council
• Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor received many positive comments regarding the Q&A session
Tim Colmer at the end of the meeting. Consequently, another Q&A session
• and over 800 other members of Convocation. was included in the agenda of the meeting. The Warden said
that given the very special topic to be addressed by the guest
speaker, two questions would be taken immediately after
convocation.uwa.edu.au 7
managed to create a very vital and active student hub in the
middle of the oval. There was a great turnout for that day.
Australia Update: Raising the Standard of
Living Forum
The Australia Update: Raising the Standard of Living Forum
was held on Tuesday 4th September 2018. It was a one-day
public forum presenting a series of public discussions on the
emerging political and economic challenges facing Australia.
The event was supported by the UWA Public Policy Institute,
the UWA Business School, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law
and Education.
Professor Simon Biggs (Sr Deputy Vice-Chancellor), Ms Jill Benn,
(University Librarian), Professor Kent Anderson (DVC Community & Presenters include Philip Gaetjens (Secretary to the Australian
Engagement) and Professor Dawn Freshwater (Vice-Chancellor)
Treasury), Jennifer Hewett (Australian Financial Review), John
Simon (Reserve Bank of Australia), Mark Barnaba (Chairman of
that talk. Recognising the challenge of time and the breadth
the UWA Business School Board and Fortescue Metals Group
of the panel and a special request from the Vice-Chancellor,
Ltd FMG) and Peter van Onselen (ABC anchor, UWA).
questions would be called for ‘on notice’ for this meeting.
A very solid contribution of questions was received, and from
these, 11 questions have been chosen to be addressed by the
The Australia-US relationship in the
panel in the Q and A session.
Indo-Pacific Era
On 27 August 2018, Australia’s Ambassador to the United
States, The Hon Joe Hockey, joined the Perth USAsia Centre
6. CORRESPONDENCE
for a private roundtable luncheon under the Chatham House
Rule which focused on “The Australia-US relationship in
The Warden reported that Convocation receives regular
the Indo-Pacific Era” and how they cooperate under the
correspondence, and the emails and letters received since
framework of an alliance with an emphasis on their shared
the last Ordinary Meeting have covered a very broad field.
strategic and economic interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Warden has responded to these emails and letters
The luncheon was moderated by the Governor of Western
individually, and will also provide an overview of the
Australia and former Australian Ambassador to the United
important topics in his report for this meeting. The Warden
States, The Hon. Kim Beazley AC.
thanked all members of Convocation who took the time to
contact him and Convocation Council in that period. There
was one fairly contentious issue with the graduate email; there
MTP Connect
The MTP Connect initiative is a state government initiative,
was a lot of correspondence on that, and the responses were
together with the University of Western Australia and the
well received.
MedTech Pharma Company, to deliver and lead the life science
innovation hub across this state. The University is leading
7. VICE-CHANCELLOR’S REPORT
all the universities and bringing together all the work that is
happening across life sciences, including what is happening
The Warden next invited Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dawn
Freshwater, to present her report. A copy of the text of the
Vice-Chancellor’s report appeared at Attachment B of the
Spring Ordinary Meeting Booklet.
The Vice-Chancellor took her report as read and began with
some updated information since her written report.
Professor Freshwater spoke to her slide presentation.
2018 Open Day
The Vice-Chancellor said that Open Day this year was very
exciting in many ways. One was that an autonomous vehicle
was moving throughout the campus during that day and
gathered quite a lot of support and media interest. Open Day
was important for the University in terms of how the University Vice-Chancellor Professor Freshwater delivers her report
8 The University of Western Australia
in the hospitals, with the Marshall Centre and various other Australia. Some states have more than one university, but
initiatives, under one umbrella to look at how the University as a group of 8 universities, the contribution to the nation’s
might lift the ambition around its life science research and its economy, beyond research and teaching, such as tourism,
application for improving lives. goods, services, and all sorts of other additional items, was
$66.4 billion in one year; and in that year, UWA contributed
E-Zone $4.5 billion to this state, which is quite a substantial
A ground breaking ceremony was held to mark the day that contribution.
work commenced to build the engineering zone, the e-zone
student hub, which will be a very lively and vibrant building. Premier Science Awards
Professor David Blair was inducted into the WA Science Hall of
GO8 meeting Fame for his key role in the discovery of gravitational waves.
A GO8 meeting was held in Melbourne on 20 September. At the
meeting, the new Education Minister, Dan Tehan, talked about Dr Melissa O’Donnell was awarded Woodside Early Career
higher education and his involvement in that. Scientist of the Year.
The Vice-Chancellor commented that it was very difficult when PhD student Arman Siahvashi was joint winner of ExxonMobil
you are ‘going through’ several Ministers to really get some Student Scientist of the Year.
traction in terms of policy change, and to have to educate
them, ironically, on education and particularly around the Fields Medal
funding model. Professor Akshay Venkatesh, is the second only Australian
to have been awarded one of the world’s most prestigious
At the moment the University has a freeze on the number mathematical awards, the Fields Medal. The Vice-Chancellor
of places and the amount of funding until 2019. They had a said that this is really significant and exciting as there are only
conversation about that with the Minister. The Vice-Chancellor two universities in Australia that have a Nobel Laureate and a
said that it is going to take the Minister quite some time to Fields medallist, and this university is one of them.
understand that, and that means a little bit more uncertainty
for the University. The Vice-Chancellor further added that the other thing that
is very exciting about this is that it is mathematics, just at the
State – Skilled Migration Scheme time when we are really focused on STEM, on really wanting to
The State government has announced a move to attract more work with schools and ensuring that students understand the
international students to UWA through a change to some of importance of maths and its application to the future of work.
the occupational skills list. The University saw a downturn The University is delighted that Professor Venkatesh is going to
through the changes to that skills list from 23% to 18% interest do some presentations for us at the University.
where that particular 5% growth that would normally happen
in this state directly went to Tasmania and Adelaide. The Eureka Award
Vice-Chancellor highlighted that the policy shift will make it Professor Wendy Erber, Dean of Medicine, and her team won
easier to recruit and attract international students. The Vice- the Eureka Award for the work that she has been doing on
Chancellor said that there was a direct correlation from the identifying single cells that are cancerous through leukaemia
work the University did with BankWest. and the impact that it is going to have on diagnostics.
Go8 Econometrics Report Aurora Award
The group of 8 (G08) commissioned London Economics, The Aurora Award for indigenous international overseas study
who had also done a piece of work for the Russell Group has also been won by UWA.
Universities in the UK, to look at the economic contribution
and impact of the eight universities to the nation. The Funding
methodology was the same as that which was used in the UK. The Vice-Chancellor acknowledged the work done through
The Vice-Chancellor offered to make that report available to research grants in the last six months. The University was
anyone who would be interested in looking at that report. awarded $17 million of funding through the ARC Centre of
Excellence scheme. The Vice-Chancellor said that as the
The Vice-Chancellor has presented the outcomes of that research funding across the nation is shrinking, there is a
report for UWA to the Committee for Perth, and will also be smaller amount of funding available through the research
presenting this report to the Chamber of Commerce. councils for us to apply for grants. This year UWA won 33%
share of that funding - the national average was 19%. She
The Vice-Chancellor pointed out that UWA is the only also said that though that is a fantastic achievement for the
university in the G08 universities in the State of Western University, the pot is smaller, so actually even though the
convocation.uwa.edu.au 9
University won more and higher awards, it is actually less industry-connected placements across our many thousands
funding, and that is likely to continue over time. of Convocation members.
Media Activity Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) Professor David Sadler
In Quarter 2, 2018, 1281 media items mentioned UWA in state will be leading this initiative and will be working closely with
and national media (748 in the press and 533 in broadcast). the Warden and the team.
• Highest quarterly return since Q2, 2016
• Health and Medicine, Science, and Arts and Humanities The Vice-Chancellor is intending to present the strategy
receive stronger coverage. to Senate by October 2018 as a draft white paper and then
• There were concentrated efforts to increase social media finalised at the end of the year. The Strategic Plan will then
to engage with students and the community, these be presented to Senate for approval at the Senate Strategic
videos include: Retreat in March 2019. The Vice-Chancellor intends to launch
• May the 4th be with you – a Star Trek video which the Strategic Vision Plan in April 2019.
attracted a huge amount of interest from young people
• 2018 FIFA World Cup video – viewed over 25,000 times, Alumni Attitudinal Survey
and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Community and Engagement)
• West Cost Fever, the netball team sponsored by UWA, Professor Kent Anderson, who is leading this work, will be
that were in the finals this year. attending the Convocation Council meeting on 3rd of October
to discuss the outcomes of this survey. The Vice-Chancellor
Vision 2030 encouraged the attendees to raise any question they may
The Vice-Chancellor met with Warden Dr Doug McGhie, have about the survey.
Deputy Warden Dr Joan Pope OAM and Immediate Past
Warden Adjunct Professor Warren Kerr AM, to talk about the
Convocation submission to the consultation process for the
Vision 2030. They looked at that submission in detail, but
importantly, they talked about how Convocation could be
more engaged as part of that vision over the next decade. The
Vice-Chancellor acknowledged that of those 55 submissions,
many of them were from teams. There were hundreds and
hundreds of people working together to bring together
some fantastic submissions and innovative ideas for the
future vision for the University, and many of them came from
students, alumni, Convocation, industry and government
perspectives.
Convocation members at the Ordinary Meeting
The Vice-Chancellor highlighted a number of key findings:
• The need to be multi-disciplinary and structure ourselves
to support this
• Importance of place – our unique WA context
• A growing importance of social responsibility
• Need for transformation of infrastructure
• Continued learning in a changing workforce, particularly
digitisation
• Need for greater engagement with industry, community,
government
• Appetite for change and transformation
The Vice-Chancellor pointed out the importance of the need
for greater engagement with industry to drive employability
Guild President Ms Megan Lee delivers her report
and relevance. The Vice-Chancellor, Dr McGhie, Dr Pope
and Adjunct Professor Kerr met and had a very in-depth
conversation around the role of Convocation because
there is an opportunity for Convocation to be engaged
in supporting work-integrated learning, internships and
10 The University of Western Australia8. GUILD PRESIDENT’S REPORT which is much needed through to donations and support to
students through the Food Pantry and other services.
The Warden invited the Guild President, Ms Megan Lee, to
present her report to Convocation. Challenges
A huge challenge for the Guild has been pushing for the
Ms Lee commenced by saying that her term is shortly drawing prioritisation of safety initiatives as well as improving the
to a close with only two more months until she completes educational experience at UWA which she is very thankful
her term as the 105th UWA Student Guild President, and as the for the support of the Warden of Convocation and the
University looks forward towards what university education Convocation Council who often give her suggestions on ways
looks like, so does the Guild. Ms Lee said 2018 has been a that she could improve the way that the Guild engages with
massive year for the Student Guild. They have been working the University, the way that the Guild engages with graduates,
hard towards achieving against their strategic goals as set and what lessons can be learnt from years past.
by Immediate Past Guild President, Nevin Jayawardena. The
student representatives, all of which volunteer their time to A final challenge that the Guild has been working with
this fantastic organisation, have been working incredibly hard the University and Convocation with is improving the
in order to deliver some key achievements for students. attractiveness of studying at UWA. The Guild prides itself on
being one of the best student organisations in the country
Ms Lee spoke to her report, a copy of which was provided at with the highest student engagement, the highest student
Attachment C of the 2018 Spring Ordinary Meeting agenda membership and the highest level of service, especially with
booklet. The same report was also illustrated through the level of funding that they receive as a smaller situation,
PowerPoint presentation slides at the meeting. and a lot of these suggestions and ideas are definitely being
followed through in the University’s 2030 Vision planning.
Ms Lee then said that a few things not captured in her report
include a series of the academic policy changes that she had Ms Lee thanked Convocation and looks forward to seeing
not earlier mentioned as well – which were all spearheaded how the Guild will move forward as she passes on all of her
by the newly elected 2019 Guild President and the current hard work over the past 12 months to the 2019 Guild Council.
Education Council President, Conrad Hogg. She also said that Ms Lee said that she hopes that the relationship between the
Mr Hogg will, through the Women’s Department, progress Guild and Convocation will continue to grow stronger.
to establish a mobile text messaging service to ensure that
students can get from A to B around campus safety.
Group of 8 Student Leaders’ Conference
Ms Lee said that she had the pleasure of attending the
Group of 8 Student Leaders’ Conference. This was a project
spearheaded by her predecessor, Nevin Jayawardena, but she
had the utmost pleasure of seeing that project come through
to fruition where she met student leaders from across the
country, sat down with members of the executive of all of the
Group of 8 universities to discuss how they could improve
higher education and how the Group of 8 could be a sector
leading organisation, championing change in the higher
education sector for the betterment of the student experience.
Warden Dr Doug McGhie delivers the Warden’s report
Guild Student Services
Moving forward the Guild Council is looking into their 9. WARDEN’S REPORT
engagement with students and better communication with
students and continuing to improve their services, such The Warden, Dr Doug McGhie, spoke to his report. A copy of
as their commercial area with opening new outlets in the the Warden’s Report appeared at Attachment D of the Spring
refectory through to improving services for welfare support, Ordinary Meeting agenda booklet.
expanding services such as the Food Pantry and most
importantly, further discussions over her next two months Rather than go through his report in detail, the Warden just
as Guild President with Convocation on how students can briefly highlighted a number of important developments
benefit from the wealth of knowledge and experience from that Convocation Council has addressed since the last
Convocation. Everything from work experience for students Ordinary Meeting.
convocation.uwa.edu.au 11Statute Changes there are many more recent and young graduates than from
As a result of the change in the UWA Act, the University is the early days. Convocation must connect, communicate and
going through a fairly solid change in its governing statutes. celebrate with all of them if it is to succeed in the long term.
The introduction of a single University statute has proved
challenging to Council and members of the Governance Open Day
Committee. This statute will cover all aspects, including Convocation Councillors participated in the UWA Open Day
Convocation. Convocation is contributing to its component of this year. The Warden said that it was good to be there and it
the single statute. The Governance Committee representatives was a very positive day all around.
are working with the University Secretary.
Finance Committee
The Warden said that to this end, the Council has been Review of finances and financial management is being
fortunate to be able to call on support from two very well conducted by Convocation Council’s Finance Committee.
qualified members who are experts in the field. Greg Calcutt Convocation’s statutory activities such as the Ordinary
AM and Patrick Tremlett, ex State Solicitor’s Office, offered to Meetings are funded by the University. Convocation receives
help pro bono. This has really taken a heavy load and concern discretionary support through the Deputy Vice-Chancellor
away from Council. Council found the benefit of what we (Community and Engagement), this is to be recast around
have within Convocation in that the network is powerful, the library and other activities. The Council also has its own
the network really can bring great skills to bear. The Warden reserves and contributions as well.
added that it is a work in progress, but both of those give a
great example of where the Convocation network can bring to Library Membership
bear what is very, very useful for this University. Discount membership of the library has been available to
subscribing members for many years; some are annual but
Graduation Ceremonies others are lifetime subscribers. It was a significant issue but
Convocation retains a valuable role in graduation ceremonies. requests to limit our financial promotion have driven it down.
In the July graduation ceremonies, the Warden’s Welcome The University wishes now to make that benefit available
speech was shared between the Warden and Deputy Warden to all graduates. Convocation is negotiating compensation
as well as two Councillors. The Warden said that he, the for loss of subscriptions associated with the attractive
Deputy Warden and several Councillors had the pleasure benefit. Once concluded the equivalent benefit will be free
of participating and look forward to the thirteen December to all graduates. It can add broader value to the University
graduation ceremonies. and we hope to have that finalised so that the new library
membership arrangement can be in place for 2019. This is a
Annual Convocation Awards Ceremony wonderful extension of a Convocation initiative and benefit
The 2018 Convocation Awards ceremony was excellent, to all graduates.
well attended and a very happy occasion at the attractive
Watersports Complex. Nearly 30 scholarships, awards and Decommissioning of the Graduate
prizes were presented. The Warden said that everyone who Lifetime Email
shared that night was absolutely overwhelmed with the joy For many years, Convocation has been providing a free,
and the intelligence of what was available to them that night. permanent email address for all UWA graduands and
PhD candidate and 2017 Convocation Postgraduate Research graduates. However, in response to strong and consistent
Travel Award recipient, Ben McAllister, gave a talk on black expert advice from UWA information technology specialists
holes. It was a fun talk, very well done by Ben on the night. that the securities concern was real and it was not appropriate
to continue with lifetime email as it had been run, the decision
Access to screens on Campus / Connect, was made to decommission the lifetime email address. Some
Communicate and Celebrate users suggested other options, these were passed to the
Two Ordinary Meetings ago Tom Murrell was the guest speaker University, and the response was the same. The Warden said
and challenged Convocation to connect, communicate and that, again, it was a good initiative taken by Convocation in
celebrate. The Warden said that Council is progressing well. the past, and it was appropriate to go with the times when the
There is more to do on all fronts and he had hoped to unveil, advice was that it could no longer be sustained.
for tonight, the new University Club Screen that will display
Convocations activities, events and achievements. The The Convocation Question
Warden said to watch that space, very soon. The Warden said that the name of Convocation is often
presented to him as a difficulty, yet the basis is sound, and
The Warden reported that information on UWA graduations Convocation has been around for 105 years and is very much
that was used in our green paper submitted to the developing a part of the University. The Warden shared his thoughts on
of the Vice-Chancellor’s 2030 strategic plan highlights that other ways of looking at it and presenting ourselves ‘cause we
12 The University of Western Australiaall have work, family, location and other distractions, where Warden’s Ride to Conquer Cancer
Con – the prefix con-, does mean “with”’; Vocation – a person’s The Warden will take part in the Perkins Institute of Medical
employment, occupation, or profession. The Latin word Research’s 200km Ride to Conquer Cancer on October 13 and
Convocare means “calling together”. The Warden put forward 14 to raise funds for Cancer Council, Motor Neurone Disease
his approach where our members join Convocation when they Research and Youth Mental Health Foundation.
are qualified “with profession”; not just meeting, but more
calling together over time.
Current Convocation logo
Warden’s suggested concept
Warden Dr Doug McGhie
Strategic Challenges for Convocation Thanks
and Council Dr McGhie said that being Warden of Convocation is a
The Warden reported that there are several real challenges for
demanding and exciting role but there are many who help
Convocation and Council, particularly around the Vision 2030
to make it possible. He thanked the Convocation Council
paper, and he is delighted to be involved in the process with
and co-opted members; Chairs and leaders; External
the Vice-Chancellor and the Executive; he said it is important
member contributors Greg Calcutt AM and Patrick Tremlett;
that Convocation is involved. Convocation’s and Council’s
Convocation Officer – Ms Juanita Perez, with support from
challenges are:
Ms Melissa Hetherington; and especially to Deputy Vice-
• To support the University; Chancellor (Community and Engagement) Professor Kent
• To support and enhance the UWA student experience; Anderson with whom he has had the pleasure of working very
• To support UWA’s graduates; closely with. This meeting will be Professor Anderson’s last
• To be relevant to UWA students and graduates; Convocation Ordinary Meeting as he is not seeking to renew
• To add value through all of the above. his employment contract with the University.
The Warden said to do that, Convocation has got to be known
10. CONVOCATION OFFICER’S REPORT
and not be hidden. It is about the network of friends and
colleagues that can do so much for the students and their
The Convocation Officer’s report appeared as Attachment
experience, if enlisted, Convocation can perform in all of
E of the Spring Ordinary Meeting 2018 booklet. This report
those situations.
contains a list of graduates whose whereabouts have become
unknown since the last Ordinary Meeting. Those attending
the meeting were asked to review the list and to notify the
Convocation Officer, Ms Juanita Perez, if the contacts details
of any graduates listed in this report were known to them.
11. AUDIT REPORT
The independent Audit Report appeared as Attachment
F of the Spring Ordinary Meeting 2018 booklet. The Audit
Report has been considered and endorsed by Convocation
Council on behalf of the members of Convocation. The audit
convocation.uwa.edu.au 13report is without any qualifications and demonstrates that Jiwei Li
Convocation is in a healthy financial state and able to pay its In 2017, Convocation joined with the Student Guild to
debts when they fall due. recognise an outstanding volunteer from the Student Guild
with the inaugural award of the Convocation Medal.
On behalf of the members of Convocation, the Warden
commended the work of the former Honorary Treasurer, Dr This year, the Outstanding Student Volunteer through
Brett Davies and the Convocation Officer Juanita Perez for Guild Volunteering is Jiwei Li, whose citation was read by
their contribution to this excellent outcome. the Warden.
12. OTHER BUSINESS Convocation Annual Elections
Convocation Annual Elections are approaching. The current
Presentation of Convocation Medals office holders of these honorary positions complete their term
in March 2019 and all are eligible for re-election.
• Warden of Convocation
• Deputy Warden of Convocation
• Seven Members of the Council of Convocation
• One Member of Senate Elected by Convocation
Nominations for the positions open on Wednesday, 7
November 2018 and close at 12.00 noon on Wednesday, 5
December 2018.
The Electoral Roll will close at 12.00 noon Wednesday, 5
December 2018.
(L-R) Deputy Warden Dr Joan Pope OAM, Ms Patricia Stroud and 50th Reunion
Warden Dr Doug McGhie
The Warden reminded all that the annual 50 Year Anniversary
Reunion luncheon this year for the graduates of 1968, will be
held in the Old Ref in Hackett Cafe on Saturday 20th October.
All graduates of 1968 and those who were at UWA at this time
were invited to attend.
The Warden called for assistance to locate some graduates of
1969 for whom the University has no current contact but who
we wish to invite to their 50 year reunion. They are listed on
page 58 of the agenda booklet.
The annual 50th Reunion is an initiative by Convocation which
commenced in 1985 with the current Deputy Warden.
Ms Jiwei Li presented the Convocation Medal by Warden
Dr Doug McGhie
Patricia Stroud
The Convocation Medal is periodically awarded by the
Convocation Council to individuals who have distinguished
themselves by their service to UWA.
Deputy Warden read the citation for Patricia Stroud. The
Warden, Dr Doug McGhie presented the Convocation Medal
to Patricia Stroud for her outstanding commitment and
contribution to the theatre since 1976.
14 The University of Western AustraliaArmistice Day Celebrations 14. Q & A SESSION
The Cultural Precinct in conjunction with Convocation and the
UWA Historical Society is arranging an Exhibition of Photos
in the Colonnade Gallery here at the Club, commemorating
the Centenary of the Armistice of the Great War. It opens on
Friday 9th November and will be up for several months. It is
curated by recent graduate and new Convocation member
Holly Langford-Smith, with the assistance of Dr Joan Pope,
UWA Archivist Maria Carvalho and Guild Archivist Melissa
Hetherington.
Dr Anna Gray AM, former Director of the Lawrence Wilson Art
Gallery, will present a High Tea Talk on 24th November on the
Art of War, featuring Streeton and Lambert.
The Q & A Panel
The Honour Board, noting the members of Senate, Staff,
Convocation and Students who served in the Great War has The Warden opened the Q&A session. Questions presented
been restored and corrected and will be relocated in the were received on notice. Due to time constraints, 30 minutes
upper Foyer of Winthrop Hall . To be unveiled on the late have been allocated to this session. 11 questions across a
afternoon of 11th November broad spectrum were selected by the Warden and shown on
the screen for all to read.
It is hoped that a Memorial Plaque organised by the UWA
Historical Society with a grant from Department of Veteran (verbatim)
Affairs through the Hon. Julie Bishop, will also be dedicated
the same afternoon. Question 1:
James Rowlands to the Vice-Chancellor: “Will UWA, hitherto a
13. Keynote Speaker champion of all that is most precious in our Perth Community,
make clear, now, to Convocation and the people of Western
The Warden then introduced the guest speaker for the Australia what its intentions are for the priceless riverside
evening, Ms Jill Benn, the University Librarian at The University land and view to the south of the recently built Forrest Hall
of Western Australia, who delivered her address on Reinvention and whether it is prepared for public opposition to any further
of the Library in the Digital Age. encroachment?”
Response:
Vice-Chancellor: “When we originally talked about the
development of Forrest Hall and the donation to the
scholarships for the University to the Forrest Research
Foundation there was always a design by the architect that
involved two parts to a building and that was looked at
through the Senate about 2014, 2013 probably, two parts to
the building at that stage. And what was developed at the time
was one part of the building with a possibility of developing
further, there were a further eight rooms that were going to
be developed, fondly called the Eastern Bloc, that weren’t
actually developed during this process.
So we’re still in a position where we’ve got of course Forrest
Hall One now complete. There is still on the table the work
that the original architect put together. I’m sure many of you
will be aware of course that sadly Carrie Hill died recently, a
very great loss to this state, the architect who put together the
design for Forrest Hall as a whole and that does account for
Ms Jill Benn, University Librarian two parts to that building.
convocation.uwa.edu.au 15So where we’re at at the moment is we have Forrest Hall seeking that support and didn’t know where to go. We’ve
built. There was scope for extending Forrest Hall into more been working with the University on improving lighting on
bedrooms and more rooms for scholars and that is currently campus as well as Security Services as I mentioned earlier,
continuing to be looked at and of course decisions as they like the text message service as well as working with UWA
go through any process have to require planning as they Security to increase and reform the training that Security
always do and when any planning goes forward then there’s Guards offer so that it’s a bit more inclusive of all the different
consultation with the community. So that’s as much as I can kinds of students they might encounter, as well as working
say about that at the moment because that’s as far as the with the University on developing a UWA-specific ‘Respectful
conversation has gone.” Behaviour Unit’ tying into all the University policies that set
the expectations of what it means to be a UWA student and
Question 2: the behaviour that this institution expects of our students.
Benjamin Fincham-de Groot to the Guild President and
Vice-Chancellor: “In light of the anniversary of the release And we also launched the Be a Better Human campaign
of the AHRC Change the Course Report, what steps has the which was developed by the Flinders University and their
University of Western Australia taken to reduce sexual assault student union in collaboration - it’s an educational campaign
on campus; to improve the process through which students and challenges people to re-evaluate their conceptions of,
have historically struggled to report sexual assault by other for example, what is sexual assault and harassment, what is
students; and has the University tried to address the rape inappropriate conduct, what is rape culture, those kinds of
culture present in our campus culture, or just left that to the things that women’s offices for decades at the Guild and other
Student Guild?” student organisations have been trying to make some ground
on. So we’ve launched that as well as a number of different
Response: services like the Ask for Angela program in our tavern where if
Guild President: “So just by way of background the Australian a student is feeling unsafe they can go to any of the bar staff
Human Rights Commission Change the Course report came or security staff and ask for Angela and someone will assist
out of earlier work by the National Union of Students which them to get home safely. So that’s a number of things that
was a survey of students regarding sexual assault and we’re doing.
harassment on campus and their ability to engage with their
education safely. This was then obviously on a smaller scale We’re looking at actually stealing an idea from the libraries.
and then was picked up by Universities Australia and the AHRC The libraries have a Please Assist Me service or PAM and
to do a nationwide survey into this issue as well and it was we’re looking at doing PAM at events so you can text PAM
very telling, I suppose, of particularly – the biggest problem is and someone with mental health emergency training will
that most students don’t know where to go if something like come and find you at an event and support you so it’s a little
that happens to them. They don’t know where to get support bit more I guess catered to what might be happening to that
from, they don’t know if their university can do anything about student as opposed to just you know getting them home
it and they just don’t really know where to start if something in a taxi safely as well. So those are some of the things that
like that happens. the Guild is doing that we have direct control over obviously
‘cause clubs and societies and student culture is our business.
In terms of what we’ve done as a Guild, as - out of the review It’s what we do best and we’re always trying to improve it
of orientation in 2013 we have significantly overhauled all of where we can.”
our event management processes, the way that we manage
clubs and societies and the way that we manage all student- Vice-Chancellor: “Megan’s done an excellent job. I would just
run initiatives and events. This includes a series of trainings, say that before the Change the Course report came out the
student leadership training sessions that we require all clubs University pulled together with the President of the Student
to take. It’s only prescriptive that one person from their Guild and the colleges who are represented in this work as
executive takes it but we find that we’re having to put on more well, the colleges, the Student Guild and a group of our own
sessions as every single member of a club that is on that club staff working together in advance of the Change the Course
committee will attend those sessions. That covers everything report coming out, a piece of work which really was very
from preventing sexual violence at events, the responsible thorough. And out of the Respect. Now. Always campaign
management of alcohol and how to run events safely and the Universities Australia of course have committed to a
inclusively. number of reporting actions on an annual basis. We have just
passed the 12-month deadline and reported on that but more
We also provide special training to our student importantly actually I think what Megan’s pointing to are a
representatives. That was a new initiative I started this year number of things.
that key student leaders were getting disclosure training so
that they could appropriately support students who were
16 The University of Western AustraliaAnd Megan just spoke about the GO8 advocacy group earlier.
Having the GO8 student advocacy group is really important,
more now than it has been in the past. The students are
facing significantly different and additional pressures to
those that they have in the past. Megan spoke about mental
health, I know the question was about sexual assault but
these things are actually all bound up. There’s a whole set
of things that really we have to work together on. I have to
commend the Student Guild on working so collaboratively
and collegiately with the University and the colleges on this
particular initiative.
I would just take issue with the question and you know
we’ve just had a fantastic presentation from our librarian Young graduates taking interest in the future of the University
who reminded us that it’s very important to look at facts
and evidence, we’re a university after all. I’m not sure that we Vice-Chancellor: “Doug, can I just add to that? I just think one
could really say that there is a rape culture present on our of the things I might say in addition to that is of course as soon
campus so I’m just going to pose back to Benjamin, who’s not as we start to digitise and make not just books but artefacts
here, I understand, he’s in Queensland, I think that’s the case more broadly available. We’re actually expanding their access
– Offshore, so I just would put back and you know I’m sure and enhancing the opportunity for people who’ve never had
Megan would have something to say about this but I’m not just opportunities and who haven’t had the privileged opportunity
going to let that go unchecked.” to go through education like we have, to access those
materials and so you know I can understand that there are
Question 3: concerns from the person who’s put the question together but
Anthony Postle to the Vice-Chancellor and Guest Speaker: “I actually this is also about really being aligned with our mission
am dubious about relying solely on a digital library, given that and vision as a university.”
the user is, by-and-large, completely at the mercy of a three-
pin-plug. Therefore, what do you intend to do with the actual Question 4:
books? Will they be retained or disposed of in a Nazi-style Jessica Moore (general): “How does UWA plan to promote
book-burning or shredding as occurred at the UQ Biological a balanced view to its students, particularly with respect to
Sciences Library some years ago?” external guest speakers presenting at UWA, that may have
differing views to that of a traditionally left wing Guild agenda?
Response: Universities are meant to equip students on how to view
University Librarian: “Well I mean I think you know I’ve covered and critique information, not funnel and filter only certain
it. I mean I can’t really imagine relying solely on a digital library positions on a topic and issue.”
either and certainly the University hasn’t burnt or shredded
any books. But I think what’s important – I think one of the Response:
things we have to recognise is there are treasures to be Vice-Chancellor: “Now there’s a lot we could say about this
found through the digitisation of our collections. You know so I’ll start by – where I ended, really, which was last evening
there’s a great story in the US from a student at a university with Dan Tehan. Dan Tehan, the new Minister for Education,
who accessed ProQuest historical newspapers so he was made a comment yesterday when he was interviewed on 2GB
looking through some newspapers that had been digitised. by Alan Jones around freedom of speech. And it’s one of the
And through the development of an algorithm he established things that he raised with the Group of 8 Vice Chancellors last
that Walt Whitman had written a number of articles under evening and his concern is that there is a concern about a
a pseudonym and he was able to do that because those sort of US phenomena infiltrating Australian universities. We
newspapers were in digital format and you know he was had quite a heated debate about that last evening in terms of
able to develop an algorithm based on his writing. So I freedom of speech. I would just remind us that the role of the
think you know what we have to recognise is that the digital University is not the same as the role of the academics within
library affords us many opportunities that a print library the University. In other words what I’m really saying there is
cannot. I mean it does mean we still need to be respectful freedom of speech is not the same as academic freedom.
of our special print books as I’ve talked about but we do
also need to recognise what the future holds and what the Now we’ve had a wonderful opportunity presented to us in
opportunities are.” the University by recent events for calling of an extraordinary
Academic Board where we were able to really have a very
convocation.uwa.edu.au 17You can also read
