VC message: Familiar beginnings

Hi everyone, 

This is my third semester as VC and it is no less extraordinary 14-months into the job. The start of semester is part of university life, with thousands of students moving into residential halls and finding their way to classes. I’ve already met many students at the Commencement: New Student Welcome event, the International Student Welcome, the Postgraduate Welcome, and the Sir Roland Wilson Commencement Dinner - and I have more welcome events to kickstart this semester in the upcoming fortnight. The Sir Roland Wilson dinner was not just a welcome to new students, but a welcome to the next Chair, Dr David Gruen, which sees the continuation of alumni with strong connections to ANU giving back to students and supporting the next generation of scholars. A warm thanks to my long-term friend and colleague, Dr Martin Parkinson, who has been involved with the Foundation for the last 14 years, and a warm welcome (back!) to David. 

I also spent yesterday morning back in the classroom, and it’s always a happy reminder that ANU is a place that opens the future to possibilities and our students are setting out on a life-time journey of learning. A HUGE thank you to everyone who has been involved in semester 1 and best of luck to our students who are settling in 😊 

Last week, Aunty Anne Martin and I had the opportunity to represent ANU at the Aotearoa New Zealand Repatriation Ceremony at the National Museum of Australia. This was a significant ceremony, marking the return of remains back to their rightful home in New Zealand. I was struck, for the second time in so many weeks, at the extraordinary generosity of First Nations people to recognise a complex history and embrace a more optimistic future and feel there is learning for all of us as we contemplate reconciliation and what words and actions we need to take together. It was also interesting to see the development of new rituals as repatriation (or rematriation) are more recent constructs. It was an extraordinary privilege and I want to thank Professor Peter Yu and his team for their work to identify the remains and facilitate these discussions since 2022 with the Museum, New Zealand Government and cultural owners of these remains. 

February is also seeing the countdown clock to the 2025 Federal Election being called. It is hard to go anywhere in Canberra without dates being floated and election promises dissected. Our campus has a long history of standing up election coverage, bringing together experts, providing analysis and convening conversations that matter. And I am excited to see this work re-booting in the coming week. 

With the national institutions just over the lake, we are uniquely placed in the sector to partner on major activities, including Enlighten. This year, ANU will host four nights of Enlighten at Mt Stromlo. All of the projections are created by students from the ANU School of Art and Design, as part of the course ARTV2909 - The Public Project: engagement strategies for artists, designers, institutions and communities.  The course and artwork is curated by Associate Professor Katrina Sluis and Dr Anna Madeleine Raupach. For those in Canberra, you can reserve tickets and big thanks to Professor Stuart Wyithe, Dr Brad Tucker and the whole team at Stromlo! 

Good thoughts to where this may find you. 

G