Dear staff,
Thank you to everyone who took part in our annual UQ Giving Day on Wednesday. I’m pleased to report that, once again this year, it was a phenomenal success.
In total, we had 1,369 donors across our community who contributed $728,000 to a whole variety of UQ causes – ranging from support for student clubs, societies, and Colleges; through to donations to vital research programs, and The Queensland Commitment Fund.
It’s a great privilege to be part of such a generous community where so many people give whatever they have – time or money – to help others, and to create positive change.
In that spirit, I’m really looking forward to joining some of the other heroes of the UQ community this evening at the State Library, where we’ll be hosting the Celebration of Volunteers event to recognise the contributions of UQ student volunteers, mentors, and student representatives.
Appointment of new DVC (R&I)
I am pleased to announce that Professor Mark Blows has been appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) following a competitive recruitment process.
Many of you will know that Mark is highly regarded in the research community – both within Australia and globally. He has been Pro-Vice-Chancellor for 5 years and, prior to that, he served as Head of the School of Biological Sciences for 7 years.
His many achievements include steering our nation-leading submissions in both the 2018 Excellence in Research for Australia and Engagement and Impact Assessment rounds.
Under Mark’s leadership, I am confident that UQ will continue to deliver research that builds Australia’s capabilities in essential areas such as energy transformation, national security, health and medicine, advanced manufacturing, and sustainability.
In other UQ leadership news, our Academic Services portfolio will bid farewell to Mark Erickson in January when he takes up an appointment as Academic Registrar and co-lead of the Students Portfolio at the University of Southern Queensland.
As our Director, Academic Services and Academic Registrar, Mark is responsible for overseeing UQ's student administration operations, as well as the development of policies, and program accreditation processes. I’m sure you will join me in congratulating Mark on his new role, and we will ensure a fitting farewell later this year.
A full agenda over the coming weeks
As we approach the summer holiday period, the next couple of months are shaping up as an intensely busy period across UQ.
The UQ BLOOM Festival will continue next week, coinciding with the final week of classes for Semester 2. We will also host the Courting the Greats awards ceremony next Tuesday 25 October to celebrate the recipients of the 2022 UQ Alumni Awards.
Then, the following week (commencing 31 October), we will celebrate Teaching & Learning Week with a really full program of events, including the presentation of the 2022 UQ Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
In that same week, UQ and QAAFI will host TropAg, a major international agricultural conference, dedicated to promoting the role of science in tackling the challenges of global food security.
We are also currently planning another All Staff Forum before the end of the year, so please keep an eye on your inbox for an invitation in the coming weeks.
I hope you have a great weekend.
With best wishes
Debbie
