26 September 2017: The University of Canberra will hold its graduation ceremonies in the Great Hall at Parliament House starting tomorrow (27-28 September).
More than 1,400 students will receive their degrees in four ceremonies. They include:
- Alice Calma, who will receive her Bachelor of Educational Studies from her father, University of Canberra Chancellor Professor Tom Calma AO
- Doctor of Philosophy in Health graduate Kristy Martin, who studied the effect mental fatigue can have on physical performance, and found that changing the time and type of training amateur athletes undertake could help them produce better results
- Bachelor of Human Nutrition (Honours) graduate Nathan D’Cunha who, after watching his mother and grandmother suffer memory loss, is researching ways to help people avoid Alzheimer’s disease
The University will also confer honorary doctorates to the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Aurora Project and the Aurora Education Foundation Richard Potok, ACT Human Rights Commissioner Helen Watchirs and former Capital Football CEO and alumna Heather Reid.
Ceremony 1 - 10.30am Wednesday 27 September
Faculty of Education, Science, Technology and Mathematics
Guest speaker: Dr Richard Potok, honorary doctorate
For the past decade, Richard Potok has worked tirelessly to help transform the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians through education.
As the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Aurora Project and the Aurora Education Foundation, Dr Potok has been instrumental in growing the number of Indigenous Australian leaders, mentors and academic role models.
He’s made a career out of encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to realise their potential and will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Canberra on Thursday in recognition of his distinguished service to Indigenous education initiatives.
“It’s a tremendous honour to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Canberra,” Dr Potok said.
“The fact that it comes from a university whose Chancellor was the first Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander man to hold such a position in an Australian university makes it even more special.”
The Aurora Project was established in 2006, in response to research into the challenges facing lawyers working at Native Title Representative Bodies. It has since expanded to include Indigenous education initiatives through the Aurora Education Foundation.
Central to Dr Potok’s work is an academic enrichment program for high school students. Known as The Aspiration Initiative, the program is delivered to students in NSW, Victoria and WA with diverse personal circumstances and ranging in levels of academic performance. To date, more than 80 students have been supported through this pilot program, with plans to scale it to 22 local programs reaching 4,000 students over the next decade.
In addition to The Aspiration Initiative, of which the University of Canberra is a proud partner, Dr Potok also paved the way for Indigenous Australians to study at leading overseas universities.
Before 2010, no Indigenous Australian had ever studied for a full-time degree at the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge. Since then, 21 postgraduate students have graduated from these institutions. This October there will be 13 Indigenous postgraduates studying at Cambridge, Harvard and Oxford.
Students receive financial support through the Charlie Perkins Scholarship Trust and the Roberta Sykes Indigenous Education Foundation. Dr Potok is a Trustee and Executive Director of both foundations.
“Every single one of these students has been accepted on their own academic merits,” he said.
“It’s an exciting story to tell – it’s beyond what Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians thought was possible.”
“It is very rewarding to see the real difference being made in these students’ lives,” Dr Potok said. “The Australian education system is creating wonderful students; we are simply helping them see there is a door there and encouraging them to knock on it and pass through.”
Prior to founding Aurora, Dr Potok was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company in Sydney and worked as a lawyer in New York and London with Davis Polk & Wardwell, before setting up Potok & Co in London.
As part of his law reform work overseas, he presented to governments, financial market participants and students in 35 countries on the need for legal reform in relation to indirectly held securities.
He was Legal Advisor to the Hague Conference on Private International Law for the Hague Securities Convention that was finalised in December 2002. He has published on conflict of laws, including as editor of Cross Border Collateral: Legal Risk and the Conflict of Laws, a book comparing the law in 25 jurisdictions.
Dr Potok holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws from UNSW and a Bachelor of Civil Law from Oxford, where he studied on a Rhodes Scholarship. He was recently appointed as national adviser on diversity for Rhodes Scholarships in Australia.
Dr Potok plans to offer the following advice to graduates during his occasional address.
“Find something you really enjoy doing and find a way to build that into your career rather than go down the path everyone tells you to follow,” he said.
“I’ve always been passionate about education and social justice issues. Knowing we are making a real difference is what keeps me going.”
- Dr Potok is available for interview
Alice Calma, Bachelor of Educational Studies
When Alice Calma receives her degree from the University of Canberra on Wednesday, it will be from an all too familiar face – her father.
The 24-year-old is the youngest daughter of University of Canberra Chancellor Professor Tom Calma AO who will personally present her with her Bachelor of Educational Studies.
“Usually when people hear my last name, they ask if I am dad’s daughter,” Ms Calma said.
“When a poster of dad went up in the Refectory, I had lots of people asking if we were related. I am super proud of his achievements and the work that he does for the University of Canberra but I always ensured that his role at the University didn’t impact on my own personal achievements.”
Ms Calma said she learnt many skills during her studies that she has been able to put to good use in her role working at the Department of Education and Training.
“I started as an Indigenous cadet working in the Department’s Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) Information and Services Team in 2014 and now I’m a graduate in the Teaching Profession Team, responsible for national policy on the teaching profession,” she said.
“I really enjoyed studying at the University of Canberra. The tutors were supportive, the resources are great and I learnt a lot about the teaching profession. Teaching is an incredibly rewarding career and I’d encourage school leavers to consider studying education,” she said.
“As a Kungarakan woman, I am proud that in my lifetime I have had the opportunity to be able to access higher education and complete this qualification. Many of my people before me did not have this opportunity so I hope that I have made them proud.”
She admits the occasion will be an emotional one.
“I’ll probably cry because I’m a sook but more importantly, I hope dad will understand that I am up there because of the support that he and my mother Heather gave me to get there,” she said.
“It’s incredible to have dad on stage with me to give me my degree – not many people can say that they have had the same opportunity.”
Professor Calma admits the day will also hold special significance for him.
“Graduation is a wonderful achievement and is the culmination of many years of hard work, dedication and in my daughter’s case, a few tears as well,” Professor Calma said.
“It’s an absolute honour to confer degrees to our students on behalf of the University of Canberra and I’m particularly pleased to be able to share this special moment with my daughter.”
“I feel very proud of Alice’s achievement and look forward to seeing her journey as a graduate,” Professor Calma said.
“That is probably one of the most rewarding feelings – meeting some of the University’s alumni as I travel across the country and hear their stories of success and the fondness of their days at the University of Canberra.”
- Ms Calma is available for interview; photos of Ms Calma and Professor Calma can be arranged
Ceremony 2 - 2.30pm Wednesday 27 September
Faculty of Arts and Design, Faculty of Business, Government and Law
Guest speaker: University of Canberra adjunct professor The Honourable John Faulks, former Deputy Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia
Luka Kaleb, Bachelor of Building and Construction Management
Luka Kaleb began building his career from an early age.
“I remember getting an equipped kid’s tool belt for my sixth birthday and I was hooked,” Mr Kaleb, who will graduate with a Bachelor of Building and Construction Management, said.
“My dad is a builder and I remember being fascinated watching an empty block of land transform into a beautiful home. I have a genuine appreciation for the industry that has helped shape who I am today.”
The 22-year-old will receive his degree on Wednesday but that won’t be the end of his time at the University’s Bruce campus.
He is working as a Graduate Project Manager at Turner & Townsend where he provides construction consultancy services on building refurbishments and campus facility upgrades, within the University’s Campus Estate team. “I love that I now get to put into practice what I have learned, in the same location and buildings where I completed my degree,” Mr Kaleb said.
Mr Kaleb said the course content has helped him make a seamless transition into the workforce.
“It has been a really unique experience. I started working part time during my final year of study. Getting that industry and hands-on experience really helped to put what I learnt in the classroom into practice.”
“It’s great because I get to work on so many different projects across the University. I have immense pride in the University of Canberra and I’m excited to help play a role in its development. It means a lot to me,” he said.
Mr Kaleb said the University’s focus on preparing career-ready graduates appealed to him.
“I researched similar degrees elsewhere and I felt that UC’s building and construction management course was exactly what I wanted in a degree.”
“I was confident it was the perfect place for me to grow and that it would provide me with the right tools to build the career I wanted. I am confident it has.”
- Mr Kaleb is available for interview
Ceremony 3 – 10.30am Thursday 28 September
Faculty of Business, Government and Law, Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis
Guest speaker: Dr Helen Watchirs OAM, honorary doctorate
Growing up in Western Sydney and living next door to Vietnamese and Lebanese refugees, Helen Watchirs witnessed first-hand how people could be treated unfairly.
The youngest of six children and the first in her family to go to university, she saw education as “a ladder of opportunity” and studied arts and law before completing a Doctor of Philosophy in 2002, focusing on HIV/AIDS and human rights issues.
A leader in the Canberra community, her advocacy over the past 35 years has resulted in improved anti-terrorism, discrimination, mental health, guardianship, tenancy, and criminal legislation.
Dr Watchirs was appointed ACT Human Rights Commissioner in 2004 (formerly titled Discrimination Commissioner) and became President in 2016. During this time, she managed the handling of more than 1,000 discrimination, vilification and sexual harassment complaints.
Her role as a community leader and her dedication to improving human rights and ending discrimination will be recognised with an honorary doctorate from the University of Canberra on Thursday.
“It’s a great honour and privilege to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Canberra,” Dr Watchirs said.
“I’m proud of the connection I have with the University having been appointed an adjunct professor last year. University of Canberra graduates have been particularly valued at the commission.”
Dr Watchirs is a regular speaker at the University and is working with the Faculty of Business, Government and Law, looking at the treatment and experiences of women in prison.
Following the unexpected loss of her husband, Supreme Court judge and former Attorney-General Terence Connolly in 2007, Dr Watchirs became a passionate advocate for organ and tissue donation.
In 2015 she was awarded the ACT Chief Minister’s Gift of Life Award for Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness, Policy Advocacy and Support.
She was also named the Telstra ACT Business Woman of the Year for Community and Government sector in 2012, received an Order of Australia Medal for her service to the advancement of human rights in 2010, and was an ACT finalist for Australian of the Year in 2016.
While Dr Watchirs is pleased with the progress that’s been made in the protection of human rights at both a local and national level, she said there is still more to do.
“Certainly, at the national level there is need for debate about marriage equality but it needs to be civilised, not protracted or divisive,” she said.
“I’m really keen for the debate to be respectful. Some people won’t be civil, but people do have the right to an opinion. However, care needs to be taken in the public expression of opinions under anti-vilification laws so they are not contemptuous or offensive to others.
“On the international stage, Australia doesn’t have a good record when it comes to the unequal treatment of Aboriginal people, refugees and asylum seekers,” Dr Watchirs said.
They are battles she will continue to fight and in her occasional address she will encourage the University’s newest graduates to find their own passion and pursue it.
“There are no wrong paths to explore. Just remember to be true to yourself and to stand up for your own and other people’s rights,” she said.
- Dr Watchirs is available for interview
Ceremony 4 – 2.30pm Thursday 28 September
Faculty of Health
Guest speaker: Dr Heather Reid AM, honorary doctorate
When studying at the Canberra College of Advanced Education (CCAE), now the University of Canberra, in the 1980s, Heather Reid had no idea of the journey she would embark on.
At the time, there was little indication she would go on to become the first female to lead a state football association and shape the code into the most popular sport in the ACT and surrounding region.
Becoming a pillar of gender equality and a leading figure in the development and promotion of women in sport was even more remote, given the challenges females faced in society at the time.
Fast forward 30 years and Dr Reid proudly lists both on her long list of achievements.
On Thursday, she will add another trophy to her cabinet with her distinguished service to sport administration, football and as an advocate for gender equality recognised with an honorary doctorate from the University of Canberra.
“I’m chuffed. I’m totally chuffed. It’s something I never expected,” Dr Reid, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Studies in 1983, said.
“When I rode my bike to university in the 1980s’ cold winters to what was then the Canberra College of Advanced Education, I could have never have imagined all these years later I’d be awarded an honorary doctorate.
“My university education was the catalyst for me going on to have a career in sports administration and to be a leader and a role model.”
Being a leader and a role model didn’t come without challenges. The path Dr Reid forged had its ups and downs.
“I was on the receiving end of sexist, homophobic, and abusive comments,” she said. “I was bullied on social media, described as being fraudulent, incompetent, gender biased and racist.”
Dr Reid said it came with the territory of being a female leader in a male-dominated sport and industry.
As a leader, she used her influence and power to effect change and create a more inclusive environment for women in the sport she loved, even when change wasn’t widely accepted.
“The challenge is educating people that as professional administrators, we’re doing our job when it comes to implementing decisions, just like a public servant is doing their job when they have to implement a policy that they might not agree with,” she said.
“Getting people to separate the personal from the political has often been hard.”
Dr Reid wouldn’t change a thing. Today, she is largely credited with bringing football into the 21st century.
She began her professional career in football as National Executive Director of the Australian Women’s Soccer Association (AWSA) in 1986.
While at the helm of the AWSA, she was part of a global movement that initiated the formation of the women’s World Cup and successfully lobbied for the addition of women’s football into the Olympic Games.
Her involvement with developing football in the ACT and nationally extends to all capacities.
In 2004, she was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Soccer Canberra, now Capital Football. Dr Reid held this position for over 12 years, overseeing the addition of the Canberra United Football Club into the Westfield W-League, Australia’s national competition for elite women, in 2008.
In 2000, she was named ACT Sport Star of the Year and received an Australian Sports Medal for her contribution to community sport in 2001. In 2007, she was inducted into the Australian Football Roll of Honour and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015.
“At the time, the Order of Australia Medal was the icing on the cake,” she said.
“I thought, ‘What more can I achieve?’ And now that the University of Canberra has recognised my contributions in many ways, I feel very proud, very proud indeed.”
Since retiring in 2016, Dr Reid has kept a close eye on the state and progression of football through various positions with Canberra United and Football Federation Australia.
- Dr Reid is available for interview
Kristy Martin, Doctor of Philosophy in Health
Changing the time and type of training amateur athletes undertake could help them produce better results, according to world-first research by a University of Canberra Doctor of Philosophy graduate.
Dr Kristy Martin’s thesis examined the effect mental fatigue can have on physical performance.
“My research looked at both professional and recreational athletes, mainly cyclists, and the impact mental fatigue has on anaerobic exercise,” Dr Martin said. “That’s the short, explosive bouts of movement and exercise like sprints, which are critical for most sports.”
Her study was the first in the world to examine the effect mental fatigue has on elite athletes, as well as the first to directly compare cognitive performance between professional and recreational athletes.
“We know from previous research that mental fatigue can impact a person’s ability to undertake endurance exercise, but my study on anaerobic exercise found no noticeable difference in capacity between people who were mentally fatigued and those who weren’t.”
Dr Martin’s comparison of elite and amateur athletes found that recreational cyclists who were mentally fatigued had less power and lower speed overall compared to elite cyclists in the same situation.
“This suggests that successful athletes are better able to focus on relevant details and ignore the irrelevant. Basically, elite athletes are better able to focus on the task at hand and are less likely to become mentally fatigued.”
Dr Martin said exercise and training schedules for amateur athletes could be adapted to improve their performance.
“Given mental fatigue hinders people’s ability to perform endurance exercise but has no impact on short, high intensity exercise, you should look to do endurance exercise first thing in the morning, and save resistance training or anaerobic exercise for later in the day.”
Dr Martin is continuing her research work at the University. She is part of a University of Canberra team that will advise the Australian Army on how to best prepare soldiers for frontline combat. The work will inform the newly-formed Human Performance Research Network (HPRnet) and is aimed at enhancing the performance of Australia’s military personnel.
Dr Martin said she felt proud to be graduating and have her work published.
“It’s also very exciting to see some of my findings being put into practise in our work with the HPRnet.”
- Dr Martin is available for interview
Nathan D’Cunha, Bachelor of Human Nutrition (Honours)
For women, reducing the likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease could be as simple as taking more vitamin B, according to a University of Canberra graduate.
Nathan D’Cunha, who will graduate with a Bachelor of Human Nutrition (Honours) on Thursday, has spent this year researching ways to help people avoid Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia.
Mr D’Cunha’s interest in dementia and Alzheimer is rather personal.
Watching his mother and grandmother suffer memory loss compelled him to join the fight against the disease that currently affects more than 400,000 Australians.
“My grandmother experienced a rapid decline due to vascular dementia during the last few years of her life and just over two years ago, my mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease,” Mr D’Cunha said.
“This led me to develop a personal interest in the genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s which may amplify poor dietary choices.”
His work focused on identifying the role nutrition plays in the fight against the silent killer, specifically in relation to the link between the APOE4 gene, which increases the risk of Alzheimer’s, and nutritional factors.
Mr D’Cunha analysed the blood samples of 126 individuals with an average age of 77 years and found that in women, a diet rich in vitamin B could help reduce the likelihood of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
“We found that the presence of the APOE4 gene and elevated homocysteine, which is an amino acid that acts as one on the building blocks of all proteins in the body, increased the risk of Alzheimer’s independent of each other, highlighting the importance of both in monitoring the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease,” Mr D’Cunha said.
“Further analysis found that females can combat the threat posed by the APOE4 gene and decrease the likelihood of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis by consuming higher levels of folate and riboflavin, both of which are B-group vitamins.”
Mr D’Cunha is also the recipient of the University’s Herbert Burton Medal, which is awarded annually to a graduating student who has achieved outstanding academic results and has made a valuable contribution to the University and wider community.
“It is a great honour to have my name associated with Herbert Burton considering the immense role he played in establishing tertiary education in the ACT region,” he said.
Mr D’Cunha plans to commence his PhD at the University next year and continue his research into the effect of nutrition on brain glucose metabolism and the influence of the APOE genotype.
“I aim to contribute more to scientific literature to further our understanding of the role of nutrition in Alzheimer’s disease,” he said.
- Mr D’Cunha is available for interview
To arrange interviews please contact the University of Canberra media team:
Amanda Jones: 0409 140 415
Claudia Doman: 0408 826 362
Marcus Butler: 0438 447 810
Antony Perry: 0434 795 919