Dean's Report

As we reach this point every year, I know we are all starting to anticipate a well-deserved break and the chance to spend time with family and friends. I’d suggest never more so than after two years of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope you all take advantage of this opportunity to really disconnect from work, relax and enjoy yourselves. We will be kicking of the MGSE festive season with our in-person end of year event this Friday at 2 pm – you have until tomorrow morning to register if you haven’t already. I’m greatly looking forward to seeing you all as we start to rebuild our on-campus community.

Re-appointment

I was also delighted to accept my re-appointment as Dean of the Graduate School for another five years, as announced in the Provost’s email this week. It has been a privilege to be the Dean of such a talented, hard-working and innovative group of colleagues and the success we have built at MGSE has been a great collective effort. Building on this success as we implement our next Strategic Plan was a great motivation in my decision to commit to a further term as Dean. I am energised by both the challenges we face as educators as we emerge from the pandemic and the opportunities that await us.

Postdoctoral Fellowships

I would like to congratulate Dr Charlotte McPherson who was successful in attaining the 2022 McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme and Dr Sarah Healy who was awarded the 2022 Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme for MGSE. These two important Fellowships are awarded on a three-year fulltime basis, and I look forward to hearing more about their work over these years.

Staff updates

I would like to acknowledge the contribution of several colleagues who are stepping down from leadership roles at MGSE. Firstly, my thanks to Professor William Locke who will be retiring from the University and returning to England. Thank you also to Professor Sophie Arkoudis, who will take over the Director’s role until an ongoing appointment has been made, and therefore will be leaving her role as Associate Dean Research. Thanks also to Associate Professor Shelley Gillis who finishes her term as Associate Dean Graduate Research and to Kate Coleman and Pip Robinson for their contributions to the Master of Teaching Capstone Coordinator role in 2021.

Due to these changes, we now have several key leadership vacancies at MGSE and I encourage all those who are eligible to think seriously about applying for these positions. These leadership positions will provide you with a deeper and broader view of the work of MGSE and offer the chance to contribute at a new level. The three positions are:

  • Associate Dean, Research, Level D and above, 0.5 FTE workload allocation
  • Associate Dean, Graduate Research, Level D and above, 0.5 FTE workload allocation
  • Master of Teaching Capstone Coordinator, Level B and above

The Expressions of Interest should be forwarded to mgse-hr@unimelb.edu.au by close of business Monday 13 December 2021.

Jim