Dear Staff,
This week, I had the pleasure of joining members of the UQ Diversity and Inclusion committee for an online event to celebrate International Women’s Day. The discussion focused on inequality and how it can manifest across our teaching, work and society and what we can do to address it in our community.
If you missed the event, a recording is available online. I would also encourage you to read the inspiring personal stories from UQ women forging a more gender diverse, equitable and sustainable future.
An important milestone for our sector this week was the launch of the Universities Australia 2002-2025 Indigenous Strategy. I commend this new strategy to you and acknowledge the significant leadership role that Professor Bronwyn Fredericks played in its development, as Chair of the Universities Australia DVC/PVC Indigenous Committee.
Keeping with the theme of inspiring staff, I want to again acknowledge the courageous and tireless efforts of our staff and students last week to minimise the impacts of the severe weather and help us recover and reopen so quickly. In the coming weeks, I look forward to hosting breakfasts at St Lucia and Gatton to express our appreciation and thanks to these staff and students.
The video below shows the extent of the damage to our research and facilities, and the extraordinary progress made to get us back on site and to assist flood-affected members of our community.
A reminder that our website includes details of the support available to staff and students impacted - including how to access the UQ emergency staff loan program and RK Macpherson UQ Staff Emergency Support Fund.
There are still some exclusion zones listed on the website, and staff based in these areas should continue to work with their supervisor/manager on work arrangements.
As we return to work at UQ locations this week, our Property and Facilities team are working through the many requests to repair and clean-up workplaces as quickly as possible. I would ask staff to please be patient as this may take a few weeks.
And finally, I wanted to share with you some exciting news about our vaccine capability. UQ is one of five institutes globally to be selected by Moderna to partner in researching and developing vaccines that tackle future global health threats. I would like to congratulate Professor Mark Walker and Professor Paul Young for their role in securing this partnership.
Have a great week,
Debbie
