![](/-/media/feature/micrositesnewsandevents/staffnews/suzanne-chambers-460px.jpg)
Innovation in practice
News 24 JulyA message from Executive Dean of Health Sciences Professor Suzanne Chambers: Winter has so far been a season of future-thinking and action for the Faculty of Health Sciences.
10 March 2016
Share
Message from Associate Vice-Chancellor NSW/ACT Professor Marea Nicholson: We are blessed at ACU with many dedicated and talented staff members. Our 25th Anniversary last year highlighted the number of staff members who have travelled with ACU throughout its journey, many of those serving in our predecessor colleges prior to the University’s formation. This month we farewelled long time ACU academic Professor Graham Rossiter from the Faculty of Education and Arts.
Professor Graham Rossiter’s career illustrates a life dedicated to the intellectual, the commitment of a scholar and the passion for a discipline. Importantly, he has been a valuable colleague, mentor and friend to many in academia, schools and amongst his students. This is the mark of a truly rounded and deeply Christian man.
He has communicated not only the power of the intellectual life in Religious Education but also the passion, hope and joy that is an essential part of a discipline that seeks to stand at the heart of the communication of the life of Christ to each generation in new and innovative ways.
It has been said that Graham is a man slightly out of phase with the prevailing winds: he is a scientist who pursued the quest to demonstrate that religious perspectives, religious education and theology could be conducted rationally without being opposed to science, scientific discoveries or the scientific method.
It may have surprised a number of people that Graham took up the serious study of Religious Education – however, since his scientific field was concentrated on the larval development of parasites, it may not be such a surprise after all.
Various leadership roles during his years at ACU have included Head of School, Leader of Department and Director of Flagship and Centre. However regardless of his role, Graham was passionate about the key role that ACU has for supporting the enterprise of teaching religion in Catholic school systems throughout Australia.
Graham’s great academic legacy is the task of moving Religious Education from the poles around which it gravitated in the 1970’s – either doctrinaire catechesis or meaningless candle gazing in the guise of seeking one’s inner depths. Instead Graham proposed that Religious should be required to hold its own among the academic disciplines within School Education.
Today this is taken for granted, but when Graham commenced his work the idea that there would be Religious Education departments within Schools was completely foreign as was the idea that the staff should be trained in the academic discipline appropriate to their pedagogical domain. Religious Education at the time was simply an extension of the Sunday homily and correct doctrinal practice – not a discipline requiring serious academic skill and application.
He is the author of over 195 scholarly articles, resources, reports, chapters and books. He has contributed to the education of vast numbers of teachers in Catholic Schools in NSW and beyond. Throughout he has been focused on the central question for humanity – the quest for identity and for how to live.
Graham’s contributions should be lauded for this alone – but it is the fact that he has persevered in the discipline arguing its centrality, its breadth and its importance for over 40 years that demonstrate how important his work has been.
Above all, he has been a good friend to so many still at ACU and those who have gone before.
We wish Graham all the best in his retirement and thank him for his outstanding contribution to ACU and Religious Education.
A message from Executive Dean of Health Sciences Professor Suzanne Chambers: Winter has so far been a season of future-thinking and action for the Faculty of Health Sciences.
From Monday 22 July to Friday 9 August, Service Central will be available for extended hours to support staff.
A message from Vice President Father Anthony Casamento csma: From 5 – 9 August we will celebrate Mission Week across our campuses. This is an opportunity for us to come together as a community to cele...
Are you going to be a grandparent soon? Did you know ACU offers personal leave for staff to care for their child or grandchild after birth or adoption?
Discover the learning and career development opportunities that are available online, including the brand-new leadership development program, 'The Edge Series'.
Join ASCILITE and become a member of one of Australasia’s most vibrant professional technology enhanced learning communities, with more than 2200 members from tertiary institutions across Australia an...
Phones will be removed from all classrooms over the mid-semester break, from 23 September to 27 September.
Include an additional survey item in the Student Evaluation of Learning and Teaching (SELT) survey for units that are offered in Professional Term 5 (202455).
Australia’s first five-time diving Olympian, a Kiwi gymnast and the woman who taught actor Chris Hemsworth to row will be among 15 ACU students and alumni to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Para...
A message from acting Executive Dean of Theology and Philosophy Associate Professor Richard Colledge: Recently, the faculty has hosted opportunities for reflection on the possibilities for reconcilia...
Are you on your parenthood journey? A practical guide is now available to support staff, and their supervisors, through the stages of becoming a parent and transitioning back to work.
Embark on an exhilarating journey into the mysterious world of enrolments. Register to attend an enrolment information session for Semester 2, 2024.
Join upcoming online workshops in preparation for Semester 2. Secure your spot today to learn how you can utilise Canvas and its features to enhance your teaching practices.
A limitless professional horizon awaits ACU students after its three IT programs were awarded certification by the nation’s most trustworthy player in the tech sector, the Australian Computer Society.
Following evaluation and voting by a panel of ACU judges, Co-Lab is delighted to announce Thomas Clark and Xavier Chalkley as the winners of the $1000 prize for the ACU Co-Lab Social Enterprise Pitch ...
ACU Library staff will participate in professional development activities on Thursday 18 July. While away from their usual posts, they'll be working together across three locations to plan our future ...
Applications for 2024 Teaching Development Grants, Citations and Awards are open. Explore guidelines and resources to enhance your teaching project’s impact or gain recognition for your contributions.
As we sit in this small window of the winter break gearing up for Semester 2, it's important to recognise that not everyone experiences this period as downtime. For many, workloads and busy lifestyles...
This week is NAIDOC Week, an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
ACU staff who are also members with UniSuper can now access free expert medical advice and services to support their health and wellbeing through MetLife 360Health.
Visit Service Central to access Corporate Services.