Executive Dean’s Message - January 2023
Dear colleagues,
Happy new year! I hope that you all had a wonderful break over the holiday season and are feeling refreshed and ready to take on 2023. I enjoyed a very relaxing road-trip to Melbourne to visit family and friends. Thank you to Jenny Seddon and Susan Rowland for their excellent leadership of the Faculty, whilst I was on leave.
For those staff who worked through January to respond to student enquiries, keep our campuses and research stations functioning, and undertake other critical activities – thank you - and I hope you have made plans for a break at another time.
As always, it’s a busy time of year with many people deeply involved in a range of important activities including grant writing, preparing for O-week and teaching, and ensuring that our multitude of operations run smoothly. Thanks to everyone for making the Faculty of Science such a great place to work!
Talking to people over the past week, I sense a great deal of optimism for 2023 as the pandemic and its disruptive impact wanes, more students are enrolling to study with us, and a review of higher education in Australia starts via the University Accord with the remit to develop a visionary plan for the future.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Chantel Veldhoen in Academic Services for receiving a Commendation for Excellence in Leadership and Steve Salisbury from the School of Biological Sciences for receiving a Commendation for Excellence in Reconciliation, in the 2022 UQ Excellence Awards. Well done and well-deserved x 2!
Congratulations to David Muller (SCMB) for leading UQ’s contribution to a national team who have been awarded a $3 million CRC Project to develop and clinically test a COVID-19 vaccine that is delivered via a needle-free skin patch.
Congratulations to Susan Frost from the University of Tasmania for being appointed as the next Director of the UQ Gatton Campus. Susan is a graduate of the Gatton campus and has held a range of roles, including leadership roles, in the agriculture industry and Universities across Australia. Susan will commence in the role in April and we look forward to welcoming her then. Thank you to Patrick Testa for doing an outstanding job as Acting Director of the Gatton Campus for the last 12 months.
Opportunities
Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science, including:
- Prime Minister’s Prize for Science ($250,000)
- Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation ($250,000)
- Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year ($50,000)
- Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year ($50,000)
- Prize for New innovators ($50,000)
Further information can be found on the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science website. Please provide details for any prospective candidates to the UQ R&I Grants inbox (grants@research.uq.edu.au) as soon as possible. Stage 1 nominations close externally on 9 February 2023.
Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship grants: Funding is available to support more women to study and build careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Further information can be found on the Minister for Industry and Science’s website.
Queensland Greats Awards 2023: These awards recognise individuals and organisations who have made a significant contribution to Queensland or whose achievements have impacted the state’s development. Please consider nominating individuals or organisations. Nominations close at 5pm on Friday 17 February 2023. Further information can be found on the Queensland Greats Awards 2023 website.
Distribution of Disciplines project
As you may be aware, the Vice-Chancellor approved the establishment of two new schools within the Faculty of Science: the School of the Environment and the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, replacing the School of Biological Sciences, the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences and the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Further information, including the Final Organizational Change Paper, can be found via the Faculty of Science SharePoint. The project is now transitioning into the implementation phase, which will include mapping staff to new schools, recruiting new Heads of School, developing a professional services model, and mapping of courses and programs. Several implementation committees are currently being established and I look forward to working with interested staff to land this important change process. Further correspondence and details of an information session will be shared soon.
Academic promotions
I’m aware that a number of academic staff are considering applying for promotion this year and are keen to understand the changes to the promotion process for 2023. Information on this topic can be found via the UQ Human Resources website. In addition, UQ and the Faculty of Science are planning to run information sessions in February and March/April respectively. Details on these will be communicated soon.
Other news
The Faculty of Science is currently in the process of recruiting our next Associate Dean Academic and Associate Dean Research, replacing the irreplaceable Susan Rowland and Jenny Seddon, who are moving on to outstanding positions as Vice-Provost at The University of Sydney (Susan) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at James Cook University (Jenny).
Kind regards,
Professor Melissa Brown
Executive Dean - Faculty of Science