An advocate for female participation in tertiary education will be honoured at a University of Queensland graduation ceremony next Wednesday, December 12.
Dr Maureen Aitken, Principal and Head of The Women’s College within UQ, will receive a Doctor of the University honoris causa at the ceremony for graduates from the School of Education at 6pm.
Dr Aitken holds a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in French Language and Literature, a Graduate Diploma in Education and a Doctor of Philosophy from The University of Queensland.
An active participant in promoting female participation in tertiary education, she was a founding member of the International Women’s Education Worldwide group which met in Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges, Massachusetts, USA, in 2004.
The group now meets biennially throughout the world and enjoyed Rockefeller Foundation sponsorship at their Institute on Lake Como, Italy, in August this year.
Dr Aitken has shown strong support for the University, College life and women’s participation in tertiary education.
She was Head of Modern Languages at Ipswich Girls Grammar School, and a Lecturer in Humanities, specifically foreign languages, at the UQ School of Music, the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, and, at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
Bachelor of Arts (English/Psychology)/Bachelor of Education (Secondary) graduate, Corinne Loane, will be the Valedictorian at the ceremony which is for all St-Lucia based programs offered through the School of Education as well as research higher degrees.
Media inquiries: Melinda Kopanakis (telephone 3365 8820).
