Julie Cogin leaving UoQ leads appointments and achievements

Of the Day

Business Dean Julie Cogin is leaving the University of Queensland for RMIT, where she will become VP and PVC Business. Professor Cogin announced her end-April departure yesterday, telling staff she was moving to Melbourne, because “being isolated from those close to me has been difficult.” Professor Cogin joined UoQ a year back, moving from UNSW, where she was a highly-regarded deputy business dean. As she was at St Lucia.  She will not have been there long but “UQ got a good three years-worth of deliverables and cultural reform,” a learned reader remarks.

Lesley Seebeck joins the Commonwealth’s Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board. Dr Seebeck is CEO of the Australian National University’s Cyber Institute.

Of the week

The University of New England council has appointed chancellor James Harris to a second five-year term. A grazier in the region, Mr Harris has served on the UNE council since 1994.

Ty Birket is new CEO of Regis Australia, which is mutual manager for Unimutual Limited–an asset and risk protection provider to Australian higher education and research institutions.

Deborah Brown is the first woman to be appointed a professor of philosophy at theUniversity of Queensland. Professor Brown is a UoQ graduate with a PhD from the University of Toronto.

The Australian Council for Private Education and Training has a new chair, Alexis Watt, who steps-up from deputy, replacing Bruce Callaghan. Mr Watt is CEO of Open Colleges School of Health.

Dawn Freshwater from UWA is the new chair of the Group of EightPeter Rathjen (Uni Adelaide) is deputy.

Carolyn Evans has started as VC at Griffith U. She moves from the University of Melbourne. With her appointment, the genders of Queensland uni VCs are now in balance. Nick Klomp also commenced yesterday as VC at CQU.

Professor Cheryl Dissanayake, will hold La Trobe U’s inaugural Olga Tennison chair of autism researchProfessor Dissanayake is founding director of the university’s Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre.

Geoffrey Crisp moves from PVC Education at UNSW to DVC Academic at the University of Canberra. This is a big loss for the former and win for the latter. A very learned reader at UNSW says Professor Crisp is the “mastermind” of the Digital Uplift project, which is transforming lecture content there.

David Bottomley is awarded a Curtin PHD for his thesis on the introduction of science into the 19th century English school curriculum. Curtin states that at 94, Dr Bottomley is Australia’s oldest-PhD graduate.

Ken Harvey is the new president of Friends of Science in Medicine, which campaigns against, “unscientific health practices and fraudulent health claims.” He replaces UNSW emeritus professor of medicine, John DwyerDr Harvey is an associate professor inMonash U’s department of epidemiology and preventive medicine.

Ryan Ko joins the University of Queensland as professor of cyber security. He moved from the University of Waikato.

QUT starts the year with seven senior appointments:

Peter Anderson, becomes director of the Indigenous Research and Engagement Unit, described as a “new role with broader remit”.

Rowena Barrett, moves from head of the management school to take up a new role, Executive Director, entrepreneurship.

Policy mandarin and political advisor John Byron becomes the inaugural director of government relations and policy.

Cathy Ford, joins as Chief Information Officer, from Queensland Health.

Mark Harvey, moves from a DVC position at the University of Southern Queensland to become VP for business development.

Angela Barney Leitch becomes PVC (Indigenous Strategy). She joins from the Queensland government where she was director of indigenous policy and partnerships.

Kevin Ashford-Rowe moves from Australian Catholic U in Sydney to become PVC for digital learning.


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