Did you scribble on a desk in the Physiology Lecture Theatres at the St Lucia campus some time in the past 48 years?

Chances are your graffiti might have been saved for posterity in a new foyer art installation in the newly refurbished building.

The installation was among the sustainability features incorporated in the $6.94 million project.

Senior designer from Cottee Parker Architects Scott Bagnell said the Tree of Life installation incorporated salvaged 1960s lecture theatre desk tablets and chair frames.

“This was an important element to maintain as part of the ongoing story telling of the building’s history and engagement of University students into the future,” Mr Bagnell said.

A range of recycled materials were incorporated into the refurbishment including light fittings made from chair frames and foyer furniture from floorboards and roof beams.

By Jan King

The University of Queensland’s Institute of Continuing & TESOL Education (ICTE-UQ) has celebrated three decades of success with a week-long calendar of anniversary activities and events.

Established in 1981 as the first centre of its kind in Queensland and operating from a single teaching room, ICTE-UQ has grown to become an award-winning global institute offering a wide range of programs and services to more than 6500 participants from more than 60 countries each year.

ICTE-UQ has played an important role in assisting international students to commence UQ study and reach graduation through intensive preparatory, concurrent English language training, pathway and support programs.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield congratulated ICTE-UQ for its role in meeting the University’s internationalisation objectives and paving the way for broader alliances.

By Frances Wickerson

A powerful series of UQ art exhibitions provided a rare opportunity earlier this year to discover the human face behind the asylum seeker debate.

Waiting for Asylum, Collaborative Witness, and John Young: Safety Zone were the result of a collaboration between the UQ Art Museum, the UQ Library and researchers in the School of English, Media Studies and Art History, and opened to coincide with Refugee Week in June.

The exhibitions were partly inspired by research Professor Gillian Whitlock is undertaking with asylum seeker archives held within UQ’s Fryer Library.

Using photographs sourced from Fryer, artists Ross Gibson and Carl Warner produced a specially commissioned work entitled “protection”, which comprises a grid of 60 enlarged colour photographs. Bands of blackboard paint were dragged across the images to represent the loss of identity experienced by asylum seekers.

“Many of these photographs are anonymous and yet they provide extraordinary insights into the Nauru detention centre as they were photographed by the asylum seekers themselves,” co-curator Dr Prue Ahrens said.

Collaborative Witness included works produced in the past decade by prominent artists including Rosemary Laing and Guan Wei.

John Young: Safety Zone paid tribute to a group of foreigners who saved the lives of 300,000 Chinese citizens by sheltering them in the city’s international zone during the “Rape of Nanjing” in 1937.

By Michele Helmrich

Associate Professor David Morrison, The Honourable Justice Margaret A McMurdo AC and Derran Moss

UQ’s TC Beirne School of Law has celebrated its 75th anniversary with a gala “Town and Gown” debate at Customs House.

The entertaining event brought together some of Queensland’s sharpest minds, with academics and legal practitioners engaged in a battle of words and wit on the theme: “It takes 75 years to make sense of the law”. Watch the debate here.

President of the Queensland Court of Appeal, The Honourable Justice Margaret A McMurdo AC, presided over the debate which was attended by almost 200 guests from the legal profession, The University of Queensland and the local community.

Among the guests were many eminent members of the Queensland judiciary, Federal Member for Ryan Jane Prentice MP, and Shadow Attorney-General Senator the Hon George Brandis SC.

The TC Beirne School of Law is the oldest and most successful law school in Queensland and one of Australia’s leading research-intensive law schools.

The school began as a “shadow” faculty on the establishment of the University in 1910, and became a fully functioning law school in 1936, thanks to a generous donation of £20,000 ($3 million in today’s money) from Brisbane businessman Thomas Charles Beirne.

In his welcome address, Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield acknowledged the valuable contribution made by the legal profession and the school’s past and present donors – in particular its namesake.

“I hope he would be proud of the procession of students and staff who have benefited from his generosity and vision,” Professor Greenfield said.

By Melissa Reynolds

An artist's sketch of the exterior of the Oral Health Centre under construction at the Herston campus

The University of Queensland has commenced construction on Australia’s most advanced oral health facility to be located at the Herston campus.

Lend Lease is managing the $120 million Oral Health Centre (OHC) project, which will incorporate dental clinics and research laboratories, state-of-the-art teaching and learning spaces and office space across seven levels.

The OHC will feature general and specialist dentistry clinics, advanced medical imaging facilities and operating theatres. It will also include a special needs unit operated by Queensland Health for dental treatment of medically compromised patients.

Head of the School of Dentistry, Professor Laurence Walsh, said UQ was delighted to have a highly experienced team of architects and contractors overseeing the project.

“Through their efforts we are now bringing to reality ideas which have been formulating for two decades. This world-class facility will allow the school to grow its teaching and research programs and clinical patient care activities over the coming years,” Professor Walsh said.

Managing Director of Lend Lease’s project management and construction business in Australia, Murray Coleman, said the OHC would set a new benchmark for oral health facilities in Australia.

“We are excited to be involved in this project and look forward to working with The University of Queensland to improve its health care precinct and the oral health services available to the community,” Mr Coleman said.

“This facility will set new standards in modern building design, creating a positive legacy for future generations.”

The OHC will be located on Bramston Terrace at Herston, adjacent to the Mayne Medical School building, with completion scheduled for late 2012.

The QS World University Rankings have again included UQ in the top 50 global institutions

UQ has been ranked as one of the world’s top universities for the eighth year in a row in the respected QS World University Rankings, released in September.

With a world ranking of 48, the University has been ranked as the premier institution in Queensland and one of the top nationally.

UQ’s score in these rankings was driven by multiple criteria including academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per faculty and faculty/student ratio. UQ scored 94.4 for its academic reputation, giving it a world rank of 45, a further improvement from its 54th ranking in 2010.

The QS academic survey was based on survey responses of almost 34,000 academics in 2011.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Max Lu said the ranking recognised the University’s strong investment in research infrastructure and high quality researchers and endorsed strong government and philanthropic investment.

The latest rankings come on the heels of the prestigious Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities released earlier in the year, in which UQ was listed as one of the world’s top 100 universities, with a world ranking of 86.

With UNESCO recognising 9760 universities in the world, and the International Handbook of Universities listing 14,000 higher education institutions in 183 countries, UQ is well and truly placed among the top one percent.

UQ staff launch the UQnav maps app during O-Week in February

Finding your way around The University of Queensland has never been easier, thanks to a new, student-developed iPhone application.

During Orientation Week, the University launched UQnav – a free application that contains searchable maps of UQ’s campuses. The Android version was successfully released in June.

UQnav is the first in a series of easy-to-use mobile phone applications which will be rolled out by the University over the coming months.

Kim Hunter and Aaron McDowall – both Bachelor of Information Technology students – developed the application as part of assessment for the subject Special Topics in Computer Science in 2010.

They said the opportunity to work on a project from pitch to launch had been invaluable.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Deborah Terry said she was pleased UQ had been able to harness the expertise of its students to deliver a useful, well-designed iPhone application.

“It’s fantastic that two of our students have used their newly acquired skills in mobile application development to create a product of benefit to the wider University community,” Professor Terry said.

To download, visit www.uq.edu.au/uqnav or the iPhone App Store or Android Market.

By Penny Robinson

The UQ sporting community recognised last year’s outstanding athletic performances at the annual Blues & Sports Awards Dinner in March.

The 2010 Sportsman of the Year award was won by UQ cricketer and 2010 Sheffield Shield Player of the Year, Chris Hartley.

Rhythmic gymnast Danielle Prince was named Sportswoman of the Year after her gold medal-winning performance at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in October.

The awards ceremony fell just days before the 100th birthday of sport at UQ, with the occasion commemorated by a video presentation and guest speech from Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield.

The annual dinner is named after its distinguishing award, the University Blue – a form of recognition of high achievement in sport, honoured at UQ since 1913.

Recipients of Blues for 2010 were Ms Prince, Campbell Schmidt (triathlon), David Watts (hockey), James Hanson (rugby), Jacqui Day (hockey) and Joanna Sterling (windsurfing).

The tradition of a “toast to the Blues” was entertainingly upheld by former Wallaby and dual-sport Blue recipient Jules Guerassimoff.

The Uni Rebels Touch Football Club picked up the Club of the Year award after being named club champions of the Brisbane Touch Championships 2010 season.

The Club Volunteer of the Year award was kept in the family by Catriona Arthy of the UQ Rugby Club – sister of 2009 winner Heather Arthy.

UQ Australian Rules Football Club President Scott Young was named Club Administrator of the Year after being named AFL Queensland’s 2010 Volunteer of the Year.

Service awards were won by Andrew Lossberg of the UQ Cricket Club and Bruce Brown of the UQ Rugby Club.

By Simon Byrne

UQ launched its public place recycling program during O-Week in February

The 2011 academic year started on a green note at The University of Queensland.

A “zorb ball” filled with hundreds of plastic bottles was a hit with students during O-Week celebrations in February, and helped mark the arrival of new public place recycling bins situated throughout the University.

The initiative coincided with the national “Do the Right Thing, Use the Right Bin” awareness campaign, UQ Environmental Officer Leigh Burgess said.

“Improving the recovery of recyclable materials and reducing waste to landfill has major benefits for the environment, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and saving valuable landfill space,” Ms Burgess said.

The initiative is a partnership between UQ and the Australian Food and Grocery Council’s Packaging Stewardship Forum and aims to ensure that at least 50 percent of UQ’s public area general waste is recycled.

The UQ Public Place Recycling Program was officially launched on March 4.

UQ is a signatory to two international declarations under which it has committed to reduce the University’s environmental footprint.

The focus on sustainability can be seen in both the University’s own operational practices, and in a continued emphasis in these fields in teaching and research activities. More information is available on the UQ Sustainability website.

By Caroline Bird

UQ students play their part in the 2011 Thanksgiving Service

The generosity of those who have donated their bodies to advance education and research was acknowledged at a special ceremony at The University of Queensland in April.

Nine hundred guests attended the 20th annual Thanksgiving Service for Body Donors at the UQ Centre.

The keynote speaker at this year’s event was 85-year-old Dr Sam Mellick CBE, a distinguished retired surgeon and UQ Honorary Professor who is currently tutoring medical students in anatomy.

“It is through the marvellous generosity of these donors that we are able to educate our students in the complexity of the structure of the human body,” Professor Mellick said.

“The Thanksgiving Service allows us as teachers and students to demonstrate our deep gratitude for the generosity of these donors who have been in our care.”

Almost 5000 UQ students and 750 medical and professional visitors have benefited from the donors who were honoured at this year’s service.

Students taught in UQ’s anatomy laboratories include those studying medicine, human movement studies, dentistry, pharmacy, science, speech pathology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychology.

UQ has held the Thanksgiving Service since 1992, when it acknowledged all donors to the School of Biomedical Science’s Bequest Program since 1927. The event was the first of its kind in Australia and New Zealand.

Appreciated by relatives and the community, it is now an important UQ tradition and has been adopted by other tertiary institutions in Australia and New Zealand.

By Jan King

Long-serving retired Gatton staff member Roslyn Karrasch

Roslyn Karrasch is one of those rare people who can say with sincerity after 35 years working at the same place: “I’ve really loved my job and became and remain personal friends with all my bosses.”

Ms Karrasch recently retired from her position as Executive Assistant to the Executive Dean and Director of The University of Queensland’s Gatton campus.

During that time, she played an active role in helping the campus transition from the Queensland Agricultural College (QAC) to UQ’s second campus in 1990 and later, to the home of the University’s state-of-the-art animal research and teaching facilities and School of Veterinary Science in 2010.

The QAC opened in 1897 with just 23 students – a huge contrast to the organisation it has become today with 510 staff members and 1410 students including international scholars hailing from 36 different countries.

Ms Karrasch has played a central, administrative role in many of the changes affecting UQ Gatton over the years.

Being part of the typing pool in 1976 evolved into becoming a “Jill of all trades” with Ms Karrasch at one stage being responsible for organising travel for every academic at the campus.

Personal travel was not put on hold however, with Ms Karrasch managing to visit many countries including South Africa, Canada and Fiji. She said she hoped travel would be a large part of her retirement plans.

“People often ask me why I stayed so long and I say: ‘Well, I could have had 15 other jobs in that time but they wouldn’t have been half as interesting’,” she said.

By Shirley Glaister

New UQ Art Museum Director Dr Campbell Gray outside the James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre

The new Director of The University of Queensland Art Museum, Dr Campbell Gray, was happy to be lured back to Australia to take up his position.

Dr Gray commenced his role in March after presiding over the Museum of Art at Brigham Young University in Utah for 14 years.

He holds a PhD in art history from the University of Sussex and has extensive experience in the higher education sector.

“One of the dimensions that really strikes me about UQ is its strong, exciting academic environment,” Dr Gray said.

“The UQ Art Museum has a really wonderful opportunity to contribute to academic discourse within the University’s curriculum.”

Dr Gray said he was enjoying being “home among the gum trees” and working in the stunning James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre, which is home to the museum.

Prior to his time in the United States, Dr Gray held academic and leadership roles at the University of Western Sydney, where he was coordinator of their museum studies research and coursework activities.

UQ Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Keniger said in addition to having significant experience in higher education, Dr Gray had worked extensively with public galleries.

“Campbell was the inaugural Director of the Lewers Bequest and Penrith Regional Art Gallery in New South Wales,” Professor Keniger said.

“With an academic background in museum studies, he will build on the relationship between the art museum and the academic activities of the University.”

Dr Gray replaces Nick Mitzevich, who was appointed Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia last July.

UQ began acquiring art in the early 1940s and now holds the second-largest public art collection in Queensland.

By Fiona Cameron

UQ players pack a scrum with the Sunshine Coast Stingrays in the 2010 Premier Grade final

The UQ Rugby Football Club confirmed its dominance of Queensland Premier Grade rugby by winning the 2010 grand final at Ballymore in September.

UQ overcame grand final debutants the Sunshine Coast Stingrays by eight points to win their first premiership trophy in 20 years.

The scoreline of 19–11 was particularly apt considering the University’s rugby history.

1911 was in fact the year the UQ Rugby Club was established – an event that will be honoured through the club’s Centenary celebrations next year.

UQ Rugby Club General Manager David Enfantie said the grand final win would make next year even more special for the club.

“I think the fact that we’ve had a really successful year will really cause a swell of old boys to come back and reengage with the club,” Mr Enfantie said.

“Obviously the centenary year is very significant, and we’re hoping that having a team that’s so successful and so exciting to watch will add to that significance,” he said.

Mr Enfantie said the club hoped to continue its dominance of Queensland rugby throughout its Centenary year.

“We’re looking to make it back to back wins for Premier Grade, and also to go back to back with the Doughty Shield,” he said.

The Doughty Shield is awarded each season to the most successful club across all grades.

UQ was the obvious choice for this award in 2010, with seven of its nine Brisbane competition teams making it to the finals.

Mr Enfantie said that despite the great season, there was room for improvement in 2011.

“After getting so many teams through to the finals, only two walked away with premierships,” he said.

“But the experience will do us well and we obviously want to learn from that and get a few more teams to premiership status next year.”

Premier Grade captain and UQ Sport Scholarship Ambassador James Hanson said the 2010 premiership was especially sweet for the veterans of the club.

“It was a great achievement and a pretty special moment,” Mr Hanson said.

“For a few years we had a lot of players coming and going but over the last two seasons we’ve pretty much kept the same group of guys together which I think really paid dividends.”

UQ Sport would like to congratulate the club on their impressive season and fantastic Premier Grade grand final victory.

By Simon Byrne

Arts Faculty Executive Officer Patricia Robinson listens to a simultaneous translation during the opening of the new facility

UQ’s reputation as a global leader in translation and interpreting studies has received a boost with the opening of a high-tech learning space.

The newly-refurbished JM Campbell Conference Facility will be used by students in the award-winning Master of Arts in Chinese Translation and Interpreting (MACTI) and Master of Arts in Japanese Translation and Interpreting (MAJIT) programs.

The original facility has a remarkable story of its own, and was named after its benefactor, John Monteith Campbell. Mr Campbell was a Queensland grazier who had been assisted by local residents after unexpectedly falling ill during a trip to Japan.

He was so moved by their kindness that upon his death in 1974 he bequeathed a quarter of his estate to UQ to “advance the education of oriental languages within the State of Queensland”.

Things have come a long way since then, with the refurbished space boasting the same conference and simultaneous interpreting equipment used in a professional setting.

UQ has launched a new sustainability website

The University of Queensland celebrated World Environment Day on June 4 with the launch of its new sustainability website.

Providing information on topics as diverse as climate change experiments and nesting boxes for native birds, the site is a one-stop-shop for information about how UQ is embedding sustainability into its research, teaching and operational activities.

Environmental coordinator Kay Ollett said the website pulled key details about individual projects into one central resource, highlighting the range of initiatives under way at UQ.

“UQ is dedicated to embedding sustainability in all aspects of campus life,” she said.

“This website provides a clear snapshot of how UQ is rising to the green challenge.”

Initiatives include developing an environmental area at The Lakes precinct at St Lucia and planting native species in the bushland areas at UQ’s experimental mine at Indooroopilly.

Ms Ollett said UQ aimed to incorporate a range of sustainable features into buildings and grounds to continually improve its environmental performance.

The Sir Llew Edwards Building, a recent addition to the St Lucia campus, features water harvesting, solar panels and an innovative shading system.

The University is also making serious and detailed efforts to reduce energy consumption. Lighting and air conditioning in lecture theatres is being automatically controlled to coincide with room bookings, staff are being urged to be vigilant about turning off computers and other equipment overnight, and energy efficient lighting has been installed around the campuses.

“In 2009 the University began widening its already established environmental program to embed sustainability into its teaching and research programs and operational activities,” Ms Ollett said.

“To achieve this, UQ is developing its carbon strategy to identify, prioritise and guide progress.”

The website is not just home to information on UQ’s operational sustainability efforts; it also contains details on research, collaborative projects and study programs.

By Penny Robinson

Bill Park receives the School of Journalism and Communication's Distinguished Alumnus for 2010 award from Associate Professor Eric Louw

Up to 90,000 Australian Diggers who helped win World War II are now missing in cyberspace, due to errors in the government-sponsored World War II Nominal Roll.

The online database established by the former Federal Government in 2002 has more holes than Swiss cheese, according to University of Queensland Master of Journalism graduate Bill Park.

“It is not a reliable source of information about many soldiers of WWII from Queensland,” Mr Park said.

“The situation in other states is apparently much the same.”

Mr Park completed three years’ work researching his thesis which examined the World War II Nominal Roll and its reliability. It has since been been published by a German firm.

Mr Park was also named as the School of Journalism and Communication’s Distinguished Alumnus for 2010.

But Mr Park’s not giving up because he has a personal interest in the research: he turned 90 this year and served as a lieutenant in New Guinea in the Army in World War II.

Now he and his Digger mates want to make sure the roll is accurate and up-to-date.

There are many omissions, errors and inconsistencies in the entries on the roll, he said, mostly among the so-called “Choco Soldiers”. Yet it was many of these soldiers who helped defeat the Japanese advance along the Kokoda Track, and at Salamaua, Milne Bay and Bougainville.

Mr Park said that since the launch of the roll in November 2002, successive governments had become aware of deficiencies in the listings but had shown a lack of enthusiasm to remedy them.

“Yet over the same time frame they have spent millions of dollars on Remembrance campaigns involving phrases such as ‘Lest we forget’ and ‘We will remember them’ and more millions each year on recruiting campaigns.

“How can we remember them, if we can’t find out about them?”

Mr Park gave a free public lecture on his research at St Lucia earlier this year.

By John Cokley

More than 200 people attended a free public lecture by Australian literary legend Thomas Keneally as part of a page-turning program of UQ events at the 2009 Brisbane Writers Festival.

Thomas Keneally in the Fryer Library

The University was again a major sponsor of the festival, and presented a range of sessions exploring issues ranging from the global financial meltdown, to saving the world’s rainforests and reviving dying languages.

UQ’s Fryer Library contains a significant body of Mr Keneally’s work including several of his early manuscripts.

Canadian author Andrew Westoll joined UQ ecologists Professor Hugh Possingham and Dr James Watson at the State Library for “Tropical forests on the brink: can we save them?”.

Mr Westoll’s travel memoir The Riverbones was published by UQP, and documents the shrinking forests of Suriname in South America.

Other events included “The Urban Revolution” at GoMA chaired by UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield and “Reporting Islam: Representation and Reality”, hosted by the School of Journalism and Communication.

By Cameron Pegg

Professor Liu Jianping and Professor Paul Greenfield sign the Confucius Institute agreement

The University of Queensland has established the nation’s first Confucius Institute focusing on China’s contributions to the advancement of science, engineering and technology.

UQ formalised the partnership with Tianjin University on October 2 – one day after the 60th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.

UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield and Chairman of the Tianjin University Administrative Council Professor Liu Jianping, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective universities at UQ’s St Lucia campus.

Inaugural Director, Professor Ping Chen, said the UQ Confucius Institute would strengthen education and research cooperation between Australia and China, particularly in the fields of language, culture, science, engineering and technology.

“It will be a gateway to Chinese language and culture, and a gateway to China for UQ students and staff, and for the broader community,” Professor Chen said.

The UQ Confucius Institute will aim to generate increased interest in Chinese studies by Australian students, and strengthen science, engineering and technology linkages.

Activities will include promoting exchange between UQ staff and students with Chinese universities, hosting visiting researchers and scholars, and arranging high-level delegations and connections with Chinese universities, research institutions, government and corporations.

The institute will be situated within the Faculty of Arts at UQ’s St Lucia campus and will involve the faculties of Science and Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology.

By Penny Robinson

The UQ community is enjoying tuning in to its own digital radio station after a successful launch by the School of Journalism and Communication last year.

Journalism student in the JAC studio

JACradio is run entirely by students and based at St Lucia, broadcasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Participating students have been trained in broadcasting by UQ Industry Consultant Anthony Frangi and a team of SJC academic staff and industry consultants.

Mr Frangi has managed and programmed radio stations for the ABC in Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania, and currently shares the role of Program Director at 612 ABC Brisbane.

He said students had “shaped and built JACradio from the ground up”.

“JACradio allows our journalism students to sharpen their skills in news writing, interviewing and presentation before entering the workforce,” Mr Frangi said.

“It is distinctly non-commercial, providing university students with a special brand of programming targeting the 18–24 age group, but also embraces others who share similar tastes.”

SJC Head Professor Michael Bromley said the station was broadcast from the school’s new home in the Joyce Ackroyd Building, which includes state-of-the-art production facilities and the latest audio digital editing software.

“Our school believes in the future and wants to equip our students for an uncertain but exciting future,” Professor Bromley said.

To take a virtual tour of SJC facilities, click here.

In 1836, students from Cambridge and Oxford universities competed in a boat race that inspired the varsity tradition and the awarding of exceptional athletes with a “Blue”.

Blues medal

It is these grand achievements that UQ celebrates every year at the UQ Annual Blues and Sports Awards Dinner, with the 2010 event also recognising the achievements of Graeme Wilson, the University’s oldest living Blue.

An outstanding hurdler and all-round sportsman, Mr Wilson entered University in 1936, a time where sandstone walls were a thing of the future and no sporting facilities existed.

Despite having no formal athletics training, he was awarded a Blue in 1936 and captained an elite Australian universities team to New Zealand in 1939.

Seventy years on, UQ is still producing athletes of the highest calibre. Chosen to carry the Australian flag at the 2009 World University Games in Serbia, water polo player Robert Maitland proudly led the 184 Australians who competed at the international sporting meet, as Mr Wilson did in 1939.

On March 19, UQ will celebrate past and present sporting talent at the Blues awards dinner at Hillstone, St Lucia. The University extends an invitation to all who have played a part in UQ’s sporting history to be part of the occasion.

Keeping the tradition alive, UQ Sport is committed to maintaining contact with past and present athletes. Those wishing to attend the dinner or simply update their sporting records
can contact Danielle Stein on (07) 3365 8205 or email blues@uqs.com.au

While not an avid churchgoer himself, 81-year-old artist Leonard French has drawn upon Christian symbolism to inspire a new painting for St John’s residential college at UQ.

Earth Creations by Leonard French

Commissioned by the St John’s College Council, Earth Creations, is a commemorative piece marking the jubilee celebration of the college’s relocation from its original site at Kangaroo point to the St Lucia campus in 1956.

“I think the Christian imagery – the fish, the birds – for an artist, it’s fantastic. You’ve got a ready made story,” Mr French said.

The work, which has been installed in the St John’s chapel, is comprised of three sections – the base features three turtles coming out of the earth, the middle panel depicts salmon swimming up and downstream, and the top portrays three doves.

Earth Creations was hung in the St John’s chapel by the UQ Art Museum installation team.

By Penny Robinson

Professor Emeritus Brian Wilson at the front of the UQ Art Museum

Former UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Wilson AO, recently returned to campus to discover an investment he made in the mid-80s has well and truly paid off.

Professor Wilson, who served as UQ’s Vice-Chancellor from 1979–1995, visited South-east Queensland to celebrate the silver anniversary of UniQuest Pty Limited, UQ’s main commercialisation company.

Professor Wilson was instrumental in the development of UniQuest, as it was his vision during the 1980s that helped the company become one of Australia’s largest and most successful university commercialisation groups. Sales of products based in UQ technology and licensed by UniQuest are now running at $5.24 billion per year.

“The overall results, after these 25 years of collaboration are remarkable, reflecting the application of professional and academic staff and the dedication of board members and University administrators,” Professor Wilson said.

At the time of his retirement in 1995, then Chancellor, Sir Llew Edwards, said Professor Wilson provided outstanding leadership which was central to the development of the University.

“During the Wilson years, the University has strengthened its position as Queensland’s premier institution and also earned its place among the national leaders,” Sir Llew said.

After retiring, Professor Wilson has been living in the South of France with his wife, distinguished immunologist and former UQ staff member Dr Joan Opdebeeck, and twin sons Cormac and Fergus who were just 15-months-old when he retired.

His eldest son, Conor, has since commenced tertiary studies at Cambridge University. Since retirement, Professor Wilson proudly claims that he has enjoyed being a father.

As UQ celebrates its Centenary year, Professor Wilson joins the many dedicated people who have contributed to not only the success of UQ, but to local, national and global communities.

Professor Wilson’s special 100-year birthday message to UQ alumni, staff and students can be viewed at the Centenary webpage.

By Shannon Price

The University of Queensland’s creation of a high-quality built environment has earned the 2008 Australian Institute of Architects President’s Prize.

The UQ Centre for Clinical Research

Queensland Chapter President Bruce Medek presented the award to Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield and  outgoing Property and Facilities Director Alasdair McClintock during the President’s Dinner held in November.

“This has special meaning for UQ, because it recognises the priority attention paid to the built environment at all our campuses and facilities,” Professor Greenfield said.

“Hundreds of people – UQ staff as well as consultants and contractors – have earned this prize, and I congratulate them all.”

Professor Greenfield said the University appreciated the Australian Institute of Architects’ recognition of UQ’s respect for the architecture profession.

“It is the University’s honour to work with exceptional architects – including many UQ alumni – who consistently deliver designs that are innovative, practical and sympathetic to our ethos,” he said.

Established in 1998, the President’s Prize recognises individuals or organisations for their contribution to, and support of, the architectural profession.

Mr Medek congratulated UQ on recognising and appreciating the benefits of exceptional architecture and creating buildings that were cleverly linked with surrounding structures.

Recent architecturally designed projects at UQ include the $33 million Centre for Advanced Animal Science at UQ Gatton, the $54 million environmentally friendly Sir Llew Edwards Building (formerly known as General Purpose North 4), and the $63 million Queensland Brain Institute.

by Penny Robinson

UQ Ipswich at dusk

The University of Queensland has welcomed the Queensland Government’s announcement of the new location of Bremer State High School beside the University’s Ipswich campus.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Rix said the move marked a major step in the education of students in Ipswich, and opened a new chapter for UQ Ipswich and for the students, families and staff of Bremer High.

“The University will be working closely with Bremer State High School and Education Queensland to build this education precinct and to ensure there are opportunities for students and teachers to work with the campus in terms of curriculum, leadership development, the creation of pathways for future education and training, and access to education and recreation infrastructure,” Professor Rix said.

“Bremer students will be able to widen their learning opportunities by being part of activities at UQ and this may give them a head-start at university.

“We look forward to developing this relationship further and developing close collaboration with both the staff and students.”

Professor Rix thanked former Education Minister Rod Welford, the Member for Ipswich, Rachel Nolan, and staff of Education Queensland for their strong commitment to the project.

“Celebrating our 10th anniversary later this year, UQ Ipswich is still a new campus and is entering an important stage of planning,” he said.

The new school to replace Bremer State High School is part of Education Queensland’s $134 million State Schools of Tomorrow program for Eastern Ipswich schools.

Staff set up the new UQ posters

commuters at the St Lucia campus would have noticed a new addition to their routine recently – a series of striking billboards featuring UQ staff, students and alumni.

The posters are part of a revitalised branding project designed to communicate the value of the UQ experience, and are based on findings from the INSIGHT market research project.

The campaign focuses on staff, students and graduates who discuss their work, study and play, and will be featured in coming months across print, broadcast and online media.

INSIGHT involved extensive consultation with current and future staff, students, alumni and industry representatives.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (External Relations) Professor Ian Zimmer said feedback to the campaign had been overwhelmingly positive so far.

“This internal and external assessment has helped us to focus and build on our strengths as we look to the future,” Professor Zimmer said.

A feature of the branding is a new “UQ” device, which has been designed to complement the long-established University of Queensland logo, and will be used across publications, advertisements and websites.

By Cameron Pegg

A particularly impressive piece of silverware is on show at UQ SPORT, thanks to the efforts of the University’s rowers.

The Oxford and Cambridge Cup

The UQ men’s coxed eights recently took out the 2008 Oxford and Cambridge Cup for the first time in 16 years, and were rewarded with a famous silver trophy that is more than 100 years old.

The trophy was donated by old Blues of Oxford and Cambridge in the early 1890s to be rowed for annually by the universities of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and is estimated to be worth more than $250,000.

The cup has scenes of both Cambridge and Oxford engraved on its sides and depicts pictures of rowing and the floral emblems of England, Scotland and Wales. An angel at the top is pictured in the traditional pose of the toast to rowing.

Queensland first entered the race contested by men’s eights in 1920 and won in 1922 and 1923, with both crews stroked by Eric Freeman (after whom the UQ Boatshed is now named). Queensland won again in 1958 and 1959 and broke tradition by taking the trifecta in 1990, 1991 and 1992.

The 2008 winning crew was coached by Lincoln Handley and consisted of Ben Ward, Will Lindores, Angus Morton, Charles Ohtomo, Jonathan Trovas, Robert Lewis-Swan, Sam Conrad, Michel McBride and Mark Alexander.

UQ crossed the line first in 6:56.03, several seconds ahead of Sydney University and the University of Melbourne.

The Book of Rememberance at the Thanksgiving Service

UQ’s annual multi-faith Thanksgiving Service was held at the St Lucia campus on May 6.

This year’s ceremony honoured 93 anatomy donors, the largest number in the service’s history.

UQ Thanksgiving Service organising committee chair Leo Brown said the University welcomed relatives and friends of donors, and interested members of the community to attend the service each year.

“The gift of donors is important for the training of professional groups including medical, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, science, speech pathology and audiology, dentistry, pharmacy and human movement studies students,” Mr Brown said.

UQ has been holding the Thanksgiving Service since 1992, when it acknowledged all donors to the School of Biomedical Science’s Bequest Program since 1927.

The University has welcomed several new and familiar faces to its executive team for 2009.

UQ Secretary and General Counsel Dorothy Collins

Among the appointments is legal leader Dorothy Collins, who has been named UQ’s first Secretary and General Counsel.

Ms Collins has been General Counsel since May 2007, prior to which she practised as a commercial and corporate lawyer in Perth and was a lecturer at the University of Western Australia.

Among Ms Collins’ new responsibilities are serving as the University Secretary, leading the UQ Legal Office and supervising the operations of Assurance and Risk Management Services.

Former Director of Australia’s Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO) and Head of Joint Operational Intelligence, Major General Maurie McNarn AO, has been appointed UQ’s inaugural Executive Director (Operations).

General McNarn’s responsibilities include co-ordinating the management of UQ’s financial, physical, management information and information technology services.

In related news, Professor Susan Hamilton has been elected the President of the Academic Board, and Professor Ian Zimmer has been appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor (External Relations).

Professor Zimmer recently completed a successful 10 years as the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, and has been succeeded by Professor Tim Brailsford.

Another recent addition to the executive team is Clare Pullar, who has been appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Advancement).

Ms Pullar has been Director Advancement at the Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne since 2007.

Meanwhile, Professor Graham Schaffer is the Executive Dean of the new Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology, while Professor David de Vaus is the new Executive Dean for the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences.

Professor Mark Western has been appointed Director of the Institute for Social Science Research.