UC Celebrates Outstanding Staff Achievements at 2023 Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Awards
University of Canberra staff gathered on campus yesterday to acknowledge the sustained and outstanding achievements of staff, aligned to the University’s values and purpose in the Connected decadal strategy.
Awards were presented to the Professional of the Year, Educator of the Year and Researcher of the Year, drawing from the winners of the UC Awards held in November.
The Chancellor’s UC Citizen of the Year Award and UC Reconciliation Awards were also announced.
Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Lucy Johnston emphasised the importance of recognising those who have excelled in their fields, as well as celebrating staff for their contributions over the year.
“There have been some big successes this year The completion of our new Enterprise Agreement 2023-26, a standout in the sector with good outcomes for our institution and our staff; the execution of the PEET Ltd strategic landholding acquisition; announcement of the co-funded Research Chairs with Cisco, PEET and the Open Source Institute; the opening of the UC Sydney Hills Campus and its first students in Nursing; and the Civic University Partnership Agreement between the University of Canberra and the ACT Government, to name just a few,” she said.
“Everyone has worked extremely hard over the past year. Now is a time to celebrate our achievements, and to reflect on our ongoing challenges.”
Staff also bid farewell to the University’s outgoing Chancellor, Professor Tom Calma. At one of his final official staff events, Professor Calma was celebrated for his many achievements at, and contributions to, the University, and in the broader community.
Professor Calma presented the Chancellor’s UC Citizen of the Year Award for the final time, in recognition of an individual staff member who has made outstanding contributions to Canberra and the region through their work at the University.
The University of Canberra congratulates all the winners and nominees.
Chancellor’s UC Citizen of the Year Award: Associate Professor Jen Crawford (Faculty of Arts and Design)
Associate Professor Jen Crawford is a leading figure in StoryGround, a project that brings together Indigenous story practices, creative writing and literature. She represents the University in cultural and teaching contexts that are designed to entwine research with teaching and community outreach, and to connect First Nations community members with the University.
“For me, it’s about recognising a project of work that I’ve been really privileged to be part of – StoryGround. To have a role as a non-Indigenous person in facilitating such work is really important to me: doing work that is about bringing Indigenous values into the University and finding pathways for Indigenous community members, making places for everybody’s story to be told. So it’s really special,” Associate Professor Crawford said.
Reconciliation Awards: Sally Quattro (Faculty of Health Clinics) and UCX
In her role as Manager of the Faculty of Health Clinics, Sally Quattro has made significant progress towards the University’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and has demonstrated an unyielding focus and commitment towards improvement for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, students and/or community.
Mrs Quattro adopts the University’s value of Narragunnawali. She embraces Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing for herself and her team every day.
Her work has had a broad reach across the University and the wider Canberra community, from the young Indigenous high school students who complete their allied health assistant placements in the Clinics, to the clients who see the beautiful Indigenous mural that surrounds the lift doors in the reception area. Taking guidance from Ngunnawal Elders , Mrs Quattro has respectfully integrated Indigenous culture into all aspects of the Clinics.
“I am very honoured to have received this award. I feel Reconciliation is something that should be a way of life for us and just part of caring for people. So, I’m really proud to be recognised. I’m also proud that the University takes it so seriously to actually promote Reconciliation, and to support people who are taking steps towards that,” said Mrs Quattro.
UCX has embraced the value of Narragunnawali, implementing initiatives that align with the University’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
Under the leadership of CEO Sarah Jennett, UCX staff actively engage in knowledge-sharing about Indigenous Australian culture during monthly staff meetings. Each team takes turns to research and present their findings and UCX’s Executive Chef Roulan Habi enriches these sessions by focusing on native Australian plants and their significance in Indigenous daily life, whether as food or medicine.
Additionally, UC Life and UC Sport have collaborated with the Ngunnawal Centre on various events, including the NAIDOC Market Day and the Indigenous Intervarsity event – promoting engagement, leadership pathways, and fostering awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues.
UCX proudly promotes Reconciliation, and has shown dedication to increasing awareness and procurement from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-owned businesses, through market days.
Congratulations to the UCX team.
“I’m absolutely proud of the way that the UCX team has embraced our monthly celebrations. From a small idea, they have gone far beyond what I ever envisaged, to grow that knowledge and share it with their team – whether that be through food, or stories, or music, or visuals. It’s just fantastic,” said Ms Jennett.
Professional of the Year: Mark Anthony (Faculty of Education)
Mark Anthony has made a significant positive impact on the University, demonstrating qualities associated with an emerging leader. He has led the induction and orientation of new team members, supported academics with the completion of course and unit accreditation tasks, and enabled Program Directors to shine through his organisation of external Course Advisory Groups.
Mr Anthony initiated a Governance Tracker, aligning courses of study to accreditation cycles, which has become an invaluable tool to ensure Faculty compliance with governance responsibilities. He always approaches his work with the aim of improving processes, efficiency or quality outcomes for the Faculty and its students, including piloting new templates for governance reporting and evaluated their usefulness. Over his five years with the Faculty of Education, Mark has consistently demonstrated his undeniable leadership potential.
“This award means that I’m surrounded by an awesome group of people who have a shared vision with me, who believe in what I do and support me all the way. I think the biggest achievement – not just for me, but for our faculty as a whole and its teaching staff – is the major suite of course revisions that we’ve done this year to try and improve our courses and make sure our students get the best, most up-to-date knowledge and skills required to be the next generation of teachers,” Mr Anthony said.
Educator of the Year: Assistant Professor Sumaira Qureshi (Faculty of Science and Technology)
Professor Sumaira Qureshi is recognised as an exceptionally dedicated educator, with a strong emphasis on providing exceptional and authentic student learning experiences. She embraces the University of Canberra value of ‘Dare to be Curious’ by implementing innovative approaches to learning and teaching, recognised by her students and peers alike.
Professor Qureshi is passionate about sharing experiences and innovations in teaching, and is a driving force within the Talking about Teaching and Learning (TATAL) group, leading to a significant shift towards pedagogical innovation. She leads the Faculty of Science and Technology Teaching Community of Practice and acts as an ISEQ mentor, offering support and guidance to others on interpreting and responding effectively to student feedback. Professor Qureshi also actively integrates teaching and research with several peer-reviewed pedagogy-based publications.
Professor Qureshi was unable to attend the ceremony. Her award was accepted on her behalf by Professor Janine Deakin, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology.
Researcher of the Year: Professor Luis Salvador-Carulla (Faculty of Health)
Professor of Mental Health Luis Salvador-Carulla is an award-winning mental health expert and the Deputy Director of the Health Research Institute (HRI). He has developed and intensively participated in international research in mental health, digital health, person-centred medicine, healthy aging, and impact analysis.
Over three years, he has participated in eight research projects which had an overall budget of over $10 million, and a direct contribution of over $5 million to HRI. His team’s tools are utilised in 35 countries, and have earned prestigious awards in Europe and Australia for their impact on public agency planning and advancements in neurodevelopmental disorder classification.
Beyond research, Professor Salvador-Carulla mentors and supports staff within the Faculty of Health and beyond, fostering project participation and international collaborations, while enhancing the PhD path for senior students coming from the public sector.
“I am very proud to be part of this work. I think the University is a wonderful environment and the best place I’ve ever worked in. We have been working on Indigenous healthcare with Indigenous communities in North Queensland this last year, to understand their needs, and how to support them to get better services. Our work with the Indigenous communities has been our best achievement this last year,” said Professor Salvador-Carulla.