A time to say goodbye

A message from Interim Provost Professor Meg Stuart:

Next month will bring the end of my time at ACU. My work anniversary has just passed, and I’ve commenced my fifteenth year at ACU, my thirty-fifth in higher education. The past few weeks have been a time to reflect on what has been experienced, what has been achieved, and to begin looking to the time ahead. 

Over my time at ACU I’ve worked in three schools, the (then) Learning and Teaching Centre and the Office of the Provost. I’ve seen extraordinary growth in student and staff numbers, the introduction of new disciplines and associated specialised teaching spaces. I pre-date both the Rome and the Blacktown campuses; and have been fortunate to visit every campus and spend time working at each. With that growth came new partnerships, new opportunities for research and engagement and the growing status of ACU as a provider of competent and mission-focused graduates.

My more recent roles have brought me into contact with a much broader range of staff. The rapid conversion to online learning during the pandemic commenced a new way of consulting with the academic community and increased my understanding of work across all the faculties. Your engagement with the consultation processes that informed the Education Strategy and later the updated Academic Promotions processes introduced me to many staff not previously known. Collegial relationships with so many of you have been an enormously enjoyable part of my time at ACU, something I will miss in the coming months and treasure into the future.

It’s more than four years now since I entered a classroom to teach. I miss the students and all the excitement (and the chaos) that they bring. I miss the intellectual challenge of teaching in my discipline and I miss the special bond created with students. For those of you in student-facing roles, I hope you still feel the joy as students create, discover and grow under your guidance.

This year has been a tough one for the institution and for many of us as individuals. Change on its own can be unsettling; saying farewell to highly regarded colleagues and adjusting to new ways of working have challenged many of us this year. The circumstances faced this year have almost exclusively engaged my time and a number of things I hoped to finish are not yet complete. There’s never a perfect time to leave!

Overwhelmingly, I am optimistic and confident that ACU is well placed for a bright future. Your commitment to our students and to one another is an enduring characteristic that makes ACU such a wonderful place to learn and to work. Long may it continue.

I thank you for the care, kindness and generosity extended to me this year and in all the years prior. In the new year, the university will welcome a new Provost; I know you’ll extend that same goodwill to Professor Cogin.

My best wishes to each of you dear colleagues, for a restful and restorative Christmas season.

Professor Meg Stuart
Interim Provost