Celebrating and reflecting

A message from the Provost, Professor Julie Cogin.

As we approach the end of the year it’s fitting to look back and reflect on everything we’ve achieved over the past 12 months.

It’s almost hard to believe now that this has been my first year with ACU, after joining the university in February. I’ve enjoyed meeting and working with many of you over the past year and would like to thank everyone on a warm welcome into the ACU community.

2024 at a glance

There have been many achievements worth celebrating over the past 12 months, and far too many for me to mention here. However, I would like to share a few that come to mind.

• We achieved our highest student load in the history of ACU.
• Many of our staff have been recognised for their work through external awards.
• We have had one of our biggest years securing category 1 grants and other research income.
• 62 academic staff were promoted in 2024 and we will celebrate these again through the Professorial Lecture Series in 2025.
• We celebrated Equity Week and the Equity@ACU symposium, putting the focus on a key part of our work and mission.

Celebrating staff achievements

The efforts and energy of our staff continues to inspire me. I was honoured to be Master of Ceremonies at the recent Vice-Chancellor's Staff Excellence Awards ceremony. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the achievements and contributions of staff across the university.

I’d like to highlight staff from our faculties who were recognised in the awards this year:

• the NSW School of Education team for building and leading Australia’s largest pre-service teacher hub system.
• Associate Professor Benjamin Mountford for his efforts to position our Ballarat Campus as a regional centre for the humanities, arts and social sciences.
• Mandy El Ali (along with a team of staff from the Centre for Education and Innovation) for implementing a digital platform designed to support the assessment of nursing students during their professional experience placements.
• the Quality in Acute Stroke Care Research Program team for improving outcomes for stroke patients both in Australia and internationally.

During the ceremony Associate Professor Jessica Russ-Smith and Dr Andrea Salins were also recognised with Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.

I encourage you to read more about all of the staff and projects that have been recognised this year.

Looking ahead

With 2025 on the horizon, I know many of you will be working hard over the next few weeks to progress projects and prepare for the new year. I encourage you to also take time to enjoy ACU Christmas parties and connect with colleagues after another busy year.

Likewise, I hope you all enjoy taking some time to switch off from work over the Christmas break. I will be spending time with family and relaxing at home. I have a huge summer reading list and look forward to continuing a tradition with friends of travelling the world by cuisine restaurant hopping.

I wish you all a safe and happy Christmas and a restful break. I look forward to seeing what we can achieve together in 2025.