2 February 2005
2 February 2005
The Monash University community has raised more than $30,000 so far for people affected by the tsunami on 26 December.
Monash staff, students and alumni have donated $21,402 in Australia, with a further $10,000 donated by Professor Richard Larkins from the Vice-Chancellor's Fund.
The funds will be donated to UNICEF, the Australian Red Cross Asian Quake Appeal Fund, Plan Australia and World Vision.
In addition, 66 collection tins have been distributed throughout Monash's campuses in Australia.
Monash University Malaysia has donated RM10,000 ($3392) to the Tsunami Disaster Fund set up by the Malaysian Government.
A tsunami working party has also been established within Monash to identify areas in which the university community can best help in the medium to long-term.
Working party convenor Professor Gary Bouma said it would identify projects already being undertaken by people across the university.
"Members of the university community are already doing considerable work in areas affected by the tsunami -- from research to medical and community assistance programs," he said.
"The working party agreed that Monash should organise its assistance along lines of established strengths and would probably do best by developing long-term ties with affected universities in Aceh to meet specific needs identified by people on the ground."
For more information on how you can help and details for donating, go to the Tsunami tragedy website.
2 February 2005
A range of high-quality theatre productions from around Australia will feature at Monash this year.
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| Ms Jan Clancy previews this year's performing arts season at Monash. |
The program includes drama, comedy, dance and the perennial favourite, Shakespeare.
The director of the Monash University Arts Centres, Ms Jan Clancy, said the emphasis in 2005 would be on drama with a blend of humour.
"The Alexander Theatre at Clayton campus will host critically acclaimed productions that will feature strong dramatic and comedy performances by some of Australia's leading actors," Ms Clancy said.
"The productions have been carefully chosen to reflect what our audiences want to see."
The season commences on 17 March with Afterplay by internationally famous playwright Brian Friel, which is being performed exclusively at Monash.
Combining drama and humour, the play is set around two fictional Chekhov characters, Sonya from Uncle Vanya and Audrey from Three Sisters and stars Lewis Fiander and Lyndel Rowe.
Other productions include ZigZag Street based on a novel by Nick Earls, Bell Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Flatfoot, a comedy written by acclaimed Australian playwright and Monash alumnus David Williamson.
Set in ancient Rome, Flatfoot stars comedic actor Drew Forsythe as playwright Titus Maccius Plautus and Tina Bursill as ex-dancer and seductress extraordinaire Cleostrata.
Another highlight is the Bangarra Dance Theatre's production of Spirit, choreographed by Stephen Page and Frances Ring and inspired by the beauty and spirituality of Australia's rich Indigenous culture.
Discounted tickets are available to Monash staff and students, and all matinees this year are priced at a flat rate of $25.
For bookings or information, visit www.monash.edu.au/monart or contact extn 51111.
2 February 2005
Two Monash graduates with a passion for human rights and democracy have been awarded the Monash University Distinguished Alumni Award for 2004.
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| Mr Julian Burnside QC |
Mr Julian Burnside QC is a barrister, refugee activist and philanthropist, widely respected for his advocacy for human rights and his involvement in the arts, education and the community.
Professor Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin is a prominent Indonesian academic who has demonstrated tireless commitment to the democratisation of political processes in Indonesia through his service as chief commissioner of the Indonesian Electoral Commission.
After completing a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Laws at Monash, Mr Burnside became a barrister in 1976 and took silk in 1989.
He has defended Alan Bond and was senior counsel for the Maritime Union of Australia in its litigation against Patrick Stevedores in the 1998 waterfront dispute. However, it is his pro bono work for the Tampa asylum seekers and his efforts as a refugee advocate that have brought him to prominence.
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| Professor Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin |
Professor Sjamsuddin attended Monash between 1972 and 1981, completing his MA and PhD during this time. He returned to Indonesia in 1982 to take up the position of chair in the Department of Political Science at the University of Indonesia. He was a member of Indonesia's Supreme Assembly in the late 90s, a member of the Drafting Team for Political Bills and a member of the Expert Team for the Amendment of the 1945 Constitution.
In 2001, he was appointed chief commissioner of the Indonesian Electoral Commission, responsible for overseeing Indonesia's first direct presidential election. His commitment to a fair and transparent election process, which included a general election and two rounds of the presidential election, brought praise from the international community.
Distinguished alumni medals are awarded each year to Monash graduates who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievements, inspirational leadership and exceptional human qualities.
Previous recipients include Dato' Dr Jannie Tay (2003), Mr Tony Pagone QC (2001) and Mr Tim Costello (1999/2000).
2 February 2005
Professor John Beck, a business education and management development expert, has been appointed head of the School of Business at Monash University Malaysia.
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| Professor John Beck |
Professor Beck has almost 40 years experience in academia, including 20 years teaching and researching in Singapore and Hong Kong.
His appointment, which came into effect in November, will see him play a major role in assisting academic staff at the campus develop research projects on major economic issues concerning Malaysia and the region.
Professor Beck said he planned to continue building on the strengths of the school's existing undergraduate business programs, as well as expanding its research portfolios in the fields of management, with particular focus on human resource management, marketing, accounting and business.
He also plans to engage with the business community by offering executive programs tailor-made for local companies and corporations.
"We want to capitalise on Monash's strengths and facilitate the growth of emerging research activities in functional areas like marketing, accounting and management," he said.
"The university is also working towards attracting more senior staff at professorial and associate professorial levels to provide academic leadership and to spearhead its research activities."
Professor Beck holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Sheffield in the UK and a masters in organisational studies from the University of Leeds. His PhD in management was from the University of Manchester.
He has lectured at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and was head of the department of business at City Polytechnic in Hong Kong.
2 February 2005
Monash will collaborate with the prestigious Sharjah University in the United Arab Emirates to develop medicine and pharmacy degrees to be taught in Sharjah.
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| Professor Byrne with His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi. |
The Ruler of Sharjah, His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, approached Monash to help develop the curriculum in pharmacy and medicine and to establish the degrees in time for current pre-medicine and pre-pharmacy students to begin studies in September.
As part of the agreement, Monash will provide its medicine and pharmacy curriculum and course material for use in the medical and pharmacy colleges at Sharjah. It will also help recruit senior teaching staff, and design and staff a new 300-bed teaching hospital to be located next to the new medical college.
In December, Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences dean Professor Edward Byrne, Pharmacy dean Professor Colin Chapman and other senior Monash staff attended the official opening ceremony of Sharjah University 's new medical facility, during which a Memorandum of Agreement between the two universities was signed.
Professor Chapman said the facility was outstanding, with beautiful architecture and state-of-the-art teaching facilities, equipment and ICT infrastructure.
Professor Byrne said the agreement was an opportunity for Monash to be a part of an exciting project that would help build a significant relationship between Australia and a stable, moderate and friendly part of the Middle East.
He said he believed there would be opportunities to develop additional courses for Sharjah and to facilitate the development of research capabilities at the university.
"It will also help to increase Monash's profile throughout the Middle East," he said.
2 February 2005
Professor Sarah Joseph has been appointed director of Monash's Castan Centre for Human Rights Law.
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| Taking the reins: new Castan Centre director Professor Sarah Joseph. |
Professor Joseph took up her appointment as chair of Human Rights and director of the centre at the beginning of January. She replaced Professor David Kinley, who was centre director from 2000.
Professor Joseph was acting director during the second half of last year while Professor Kinley was overseas on a Fulbright Scholarship.
Monash Law dean Professor Arie Freiberg welcomed Professor Joseph and paid tribute to Professor Kinley's stewardship of the centre.
"Professor Joseph is a leading human rights scholar whose work on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is internationally renowned," he said.
"She has been a valuable member of the Faculty of Law since 1995 and has actively worked to promote and protect human rights through research, publications and consulting work.
"I would also like to thank David for his outstanding contribution to the centre in its foundation years.
"The centre has developed a national and international reputation in a very short period of time and is a major attraction to potential staff and students."
Professor Kinley will teach a summer unit in human rights at Monash before departing for the University of Sydney, where he will take up a chair in International Human Rights Law.
Professor Joseph said the Castan Centre's work had never been more relevant and that she was honoured by her appointment.
"As director, I plan to build on Professor Kinley's work by creating greater opportunities for students and academic staff to become involved in the centre and also to foster greater links with other national and international centres devoted to human rights, as well as the profession."
2 February 2005
A book written by two Monash academics is one of Choice magazine's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2004.
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| Dr Kevin Korb and Dr Ann Nicholson |
The book, Bayesian Artificial Intelligence, was written by Dr Kevin Korb and Dr Ann Nicholson from the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Monash.
Published in 2003, the book introduces Bayesian network technology, which is based on graphical algorithms, and explains its use in building probabilistic expert systems.
More than 7500 titles were submitted for consideration in the awards, of which 644 were selected as outstanding academic titles.
Selection was based on excellence in scholarship and presentation, the significance of the book's contribution to the field and its treatment of the subject.
Dr Korb said he was delighted with the acknowledgement by Choice.
"This is recognition of the academic quality of the book and its value for learning about this new approach to applying artificial intelligence," he said.
"While internationally this is an active area of research and application, in Australia Bayesian technology is little known."
2 February 2005
Monash debater Ms Kylie Lane has been declared 'best speaker in the world' at the 2005 World University Debating Championships.
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| Champs cheek to cheek: Ms Kylie Lane and debating partner Mr Andrew Fitch at the championships' official dinner. |
The economics/law graduate is only the second woman in the competition's 25-year history to be awarded the top prize and the second Monash representative to claim the title. Last year, she also won the Australasian Debating Championships and was a member of the Monash team that came second in the WTO International Trade Law Moot finals in Geneva.
Her Monash teammate, arts student Mr Andrew Fitch, was named sixth best speaker of the 2005 tournament. As well, debating as the Monash A team, the pair reached the semi-finals of the World Championships and was ranked third out of 312 teams at the contest in Malaysia.
Also at the competition, arts/law student Mr Roland Dillon and recent Monash graduate Mr Michael Smith were declared champions in the world masters section, successfully defending the title that had been won the previous year by Monash competitors.
The Monash C team, consisting of commerce student Mr Tom Chapman and arts/ law student Mr Jacob Clifton, made it to the quarter-finals.
Ms Lane said the debates, held at Malaysia's Multimedia University (MMU) in January, had been a team effort.
"MMU ran a fantastic tournament, and Andrew and I were thrilled with reaching the semis as a team and receiving individual speaker prizes," she said.
Ms Lane will begin her articles at Australian law firm Blake Dawson Waldron after completing her double degree with an honours year in economics in 2004.
The overall winner of the championships was the Ottawa Law A team from Ottawa University, Canada.2 February 2005
Two-hundred-and-fifty of Australia's best young musicians gathered at Monash in January for the 2005 Australian Youth Orchestra's National Music Camp.
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The camp originated in Victoria in 1948 and is held in a different city throughout Australia each year. This is the first time since 1997 the camp has been held in Melbourne and the first time Monash has hosted it.
Vice-chancellor Professor Richard Larkins said it was a great pleasure for the university to be able to sponsor and host the significant event.
"Many of the values underpinning the camp are consistent with those we promote at Monash, including fostering creativity, supporting cultural activities by engagement with the community and encouraging young people to develop their talents," he said.
The two-week camp gives students the chance to gain knowledge and inspiration from tutors and conductors from around the world.
Aged between 14 and 25, the students undertake intensive study, performance and musical experimentation.
Australian Youth Orchestra general manager Mr Tony Grybowski said about two-thirds of the leading professional musicians in Australia had attended the camp.
"The students are presented with a fairly challenging repertoire, which raises the bar in their level of learning and performing," he said. "As music is such a competitive field, this camp allows them to build their knowledge and experience, which in turn helps them compete."
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