Graduations honour local leaders
by Michèle Nardelli
August
saw more than 1000 UniSA graduates cross the stage at the Festival
Theatre in two days of ceremonies that also celebrated the contribution
of high profile Australians to education and society. SA Premier Mike
Rann and former Senator in the Hawke Government, Susan Ryan AO, were
both made Honorary Doctors of the University of South Australia.
Premier Rann addressed the 360 business graduates who received their awards at the same ceremony, speaking on the invaluable role of universities in society.
In delivering the Premier’s citation, Laureate Professor John Ralston acknowledged the Premier’s strong support for the evolution of Adelaide as an education city and recalled his strong connection with UniSA.
"It was Mike Rann who just 15 years ago, as Minister of Employment and Further Education, introduced the legislation that established the University of South Australia," Prof Ralston said.
"He was also an SA Institute of Technology Council member from 1987 to 1989 and a member of the Techsearch Management Committee from 1986 to 1990. After the formation of UniSA in 1991 he showed great interest in the institution and served on its Council from 1994 to 1996."
Dr Rann told the graduates he was delighted that diversity and equality remained core values at UniSA.
"I believed then as I do now, that the advancement of this state depended at least as much on the confidence and talents of the many, as on the brilliance of a few," he said.
"The new University [UniSA] created a curriculum that sought to ‘invite rather than impede, include rather than exclude’."
Dr Rann said that what excited him most about UniSA today was its positive future, including its new campus facilities and art gallery at City West, its links to programs such as the Thinkers in Residence initiative and its significant involvement in the manufacturing and defence technology sectors.
"I am very proud to say that I was ‘present at the birth’ of this University," he said. "My work with the University has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life."
Dr Rann also paid tribute to Vice Chancellor Professor Denise Bradley for her leadership.
"It is fitting that her vision and determination have been recognised not just locally but nationally and internationally as well."
More modern political and social history greeted arts, education and the social sciences graduates when former Federal Minister for Education in the Hawke Government, Susan Ryan, AO, was awarded an honorary doctorate and presented the graduation speech at their ceremony. Ryan’s tireless commitment to equity and access in education, and improved opportunities for women was a key theme in her citation.
A founding member of the Women’s Electoral Lobby in 1972, Ryan worked to advance the status of women and improve access to education. During her time as education minister, school retention rates doubled, university and TAFE places grew significantly, R&D tax incentives and Cooperative Research Centres were introduced, and university education remained free despite the Labor Party’s increasing shift towards a user pays model.
As Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of Women, Ryan pioneered extensive anti-discrimination and equal opportunity legislation including the landmark Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and the Affirmative Action (Equal Opportunities in Employment) Act 1986. She also led the government’s work to have Australia ratify the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.