Dear Staff,
As we near the end of what has been a very sodden week throughout Queensland, I wanted to just quickly update you on recent news from across UQ.
Last week, I had the privilege of travelling overseas for the first time since the start of the pandemic. I travelled to the UK, where I hosted a reception for UQ alumni in London and attended the AGM of Universitas 21 (a global network of 28 research-intensive universities) in Birmingham.
I also visited the University of Exeter, one of our global flagship partners, where I renewed our international cooperation agreement in relation to the QUEX Institute, which conducts interdisciplinary research into healthy living, global environmental futures, and digital technologies.
While it was tremendous to see the impact that UQ is having on the other side of the world, it was also wonderful to return – especially because on Monday we held the officially opening of Kev Carmody House, our new student residential building at St Lucia.
As our guest of honour at the event, Kev Carmody delivered a great speech in which he reflected on his own experiences at UQ in the late 1970s and early 1980s – and he also performed From Little Things Big Things Grow, the classic song that he co-wrote with Paul Kelly.
On Tuesday afternoon this week, I hosted an event to thank the staff at St Lucia who really led the response to the flooding of the campus earlier this year.
Our P&F team did a phenomenal job of safeguarding the campus through the peak of those floods, and Student Services were amazingly responsive in providing support to 1,900 students who were living in homes that were either flooded or without power. Thanks, once again, to all who played a role in managing through that crisis.
Last night, we hosted some of the University’s most generous supporters at the annual Mayne Circle Dinner. That was a great opportunity to showcase the most recent additions to campus life at St Lucia, including the Andrew N Liveris Building and Patina at Alumni Court.
On the topic of philanthropy, UQ’s 2021 Donor Impact Report has just been released. The 2021 Report highlights that the University raised an astounding $63.9 million last year, from some 4,559 donors, including many of our own staff.
The Report is a great read that contains a number of uplifting stories about how our donor community is providing vital support for disadvantaged students to study at UQ, as well as contributing to our world-leading research efforts.
As we look ahead to next week, I’m looking forward to participating in our next ChangeMakers session on Monday – and then we’ll be hosting the annual Great Court Race on Wednesday. That’s always a highlight of the year at our St Lucia campus. So, I hope to see you there.
I would also encourage anyone working in research to complete the CEDARS Survey. This important survey seeks to gain a better understanding of how we can improve career development opportunities for researchers at UQ. To maximise participation, we have decided to extend the survey period by an extra week, so it will be accessible until next Friday 20 May.
Finally, we took the difficult decision to close our Gatton campus yesterday at 5pm because of very heavy rainfall in the area and with severe rainfall continuing over the catchment today we have also decided to close the Pinjarra Hills Research Facility this morning.
We have written to staff and students based at Gatton to advise them that the campus will remain closed today, with access restricted to emergency and essential staff, and those who live on campus. We are hopeful that normal campus activities will be restored by Monday and a decision on this will be made on Sunday.
All of this wet weather should also serve as a timely reminder that winter is almost upon us – and with that, of course, we’re at heightened risk of being exposed to the viruses that are circulating in our community. As such, I’d again like to encourage everyone at UQ to ensure your vaccinations are up to date – whether that be for the flu, or your COVID-19 booster.
Here’s hoping all of this rain eases just a little, so we can get outside and enjoy some sunshine over the weekend.
With best wishes,
Debbie
