Curtin U VC Deborah Terry is elected to replace Margaret Gardner as chair of Universities Australia. Professor Terry is presently a UA deputy chair.

Professor Terry signed-on for a further four years at Curtin last May, which will take her through to 2023. This followed a blinder of a first term. Under Professor Terry Curtin has created a medical school, opened campuses in Dubai and Mauritius built a MOOC list (via edX), notably in the career-study micromasters market and is working on a $500m property project at the Bentley campus.

Curtin U has also rocketed up the rankings. It rated 302 on the Academic Ranking of World Universities in 2014 and was in the 151-200 band last year. Observers attribute this in no small part to Professor Terry’s three-point research development strategy; support early and mid-career researchers to nurture stars, broaden research capacities and encourage knowledge transfer.