Executive Dean's Message - September 2019

Dear colleagues,

It’s been another month of celebrations for Faculty of Science staff. Congratulations to:

• Debra Bernhardt (SCMB and AIBN) on the award of an ARC Laureate Fellowship which is in addition to her fellowship of the Australian Academy of Sciences earlier this year.
• Bernie Carroll (SCMB) and Liz Aitken (SAFS) as CIs on a successful ARC Transformation Hub: ARC Research Hub for Sustainable Crop Protection, led by Neena Mitter (QAAFI).
• James Watson (SEES) on his recent publication in Nature entitled ‘Wilderness areas halve the extinction risk of terrestrial biodiversity’.
• Avril Robertson (SCMB) and Cath Lovelock (BIOL) on being finalists in the Women in Technology Life Sciences Outstanding Achievement Award.
• Mark Walker (SCMB) and Roy Hall (SCMB) on both being awarded NHMRC Development grants valued at >$1M.
• Teresa Ubide (SEES) on being awarded a UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award.
• Warwick Bowen, Chris Baker and Rachpon Kalra (SMP), and Bernie Carroll (SCMB), who have been separately awarded Partners in Research Excellence Awards.
• The 33 Faculty of Science staff who have been admitted this year into the Higher Education Academy (HEA) as new Senior Fellows, Fellows, and Associate Fellows. A full list of Fellows admitted in 2018 and 2019 are on the Faculty website.

In other great news, UQ has received the Athena SWAN Institutional Bronze Award, as part of its long-term plan to improve gender equity and diversity university-wide. The award is part of the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) initiative which requires participants to collect and analyse data to determine barriers and challenges impacting women’s STEMM careers and develop an Action Plan to mitigate or remove known barriers.

I have been fortunate to attend some great events again this month, including an address by Bridget McKenzie (Federal Minister of Agriculture) at the Rural Press Club lunch, a Kimberley Foundation Launch of new ARC linkage project ‘Unlocking the environmental archives of the Kimberley’s past’ led by Hamish McGowan (SEES), an early- and mid-career researchers appreciation day panel discussion, the launch of UQ Industry Connect, and an RUOK breakfast at our Gatton campus.

As many of you will know, a university-wide review of all programs, majors, courses, rules and teaching and learning policies and procedures is now underway. The review, known as ‘Program Architecture’, will deliver a set of consistent program design principles, tools, systems and frameworks to help ensure UQ’s programs, majors and courses are sustainable, meet student and market expectations, and optimise the student experience. Further information can be found here (Program Architecture (PA2)). I have been working with Heads of School, the ADA portfolio, and TLC chairs to ensure that PA2 objectives fit with our Faculty programs, and also to ensure that you are supported through this process.  We do have a tight timeframe to complete this work with a faculty report due at the end of May 2020, and implementation of the new policies for all programs and plans in Semester 1, 2021. If you are a program or plan leader, you will be briefed by your Head of School or TLC Chair as to the next steps.  I will be keeping you abreast of any changes, but if you have any queries, please talk to your Head of School who will be able to answer them, or direct you to someone who can.

Kind regards,

Professor Melissa Brown
Executive Dean