Opportunities for educational exchanges and partnerships with American universities were some of the topics discussed when the Consul-General of the United States of America, Mr Niels Marquardt, visited UNE on Thursday, June 9^th.

Mr Marquardt held talks with the Chancellor, the Hon Dr Richard Torbay MP and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, before making an informal public presentation at which he answered questions and UNE staff canvassed possible opportunities for the University to engage with the US higher education sector.

Mr Marquardt also participated in an interview on the UNE Radio Station, TUNE FM, which was both broadcast live to student listeners and streamed on the web.

During a visit from the Consul-General of Japan, Dr Masahiro Kohara, on Tuesday, June 7th, UNE joined other Australian organisations and governments in extending a helping hand to people affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Following meetings with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, and Chancellor, Dr Richard Torbay MP, the Consul-General outlined in a public address at UNE the scale of the damage wrought, including the 16,000 lives lost and the 8,000 still missing, and the response of the Japanese government and people in rebuilding.

Turning to Japan’s development and the state of the Australia-Japan relationship, the Consul-General identified Japan as being at a crossroads, with quality of life taking increasing precedence. He commented on the great capacity for Australia and Japan to assist each other, with shared values in democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law, and a significant stake in stability in the region.

Welcoming the Consul-General to campus, Chancellor Richard Torbay said ‘We are a University with strong international links, and we value academics and students from overseas as part of our University community. Our relationship at a national level with Japan is one of our most significant.’

The Vice-Chancellor then presented the Consul-General with an offer to assist Japanese students affected by the tsunami and earthquake, and particularly those in the hard-hit Sendai region.

‘Our sympathies and best wishes are extended to the people of Japan at this time of hardship following the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami of March, 2011,’ Professor Barber said. ‘Since that time, the Japanese people have shown great resilience and courage in the face of adversity’.

‘The University of New England would like to play its part by offering places on campus at the University in Armidale for five students from universities in affected areas, including in particular the region of Sendai. We would be pleased to accommodate these students in its colleges and to meet costs associated with their tuition in English language’.

The Consul-General concluded his visit by meeting with students and Japan specialists from UNE’s active academic community, including those specialising in language studies, Japanese music and culture, and strategic studies. The University expects to capitalise on the strong links built by further exploring institutional and people-to-people linkages between UNE and organisations in Japan.

At the beginning of a University of New England graduation ceremony last Saturday, the Chancellor, Dr Richard Torbay, paid tribute to Emeritus Professor Dick Franklin on the occasion of Professor Franklin’s 75^th performance of the role of Esquire Bedell at the head of Graduation’s academic procession.

Dr Torbay said that Professor Franklin had retired from UNE’s Department of Philosophy in 1985 and had “kept an enduring association with the University, including his involvement with the Animal Ethics Committee, the Senior Advisory Council of Mary White College and the University of the Third Age here in town, and as Esquire Bedell since 1996″.

After explaining the medieval origin of the Esquire Bedell role, he continued: “A modern university has its traditions, and they are valuable to us in maintaining standards and in giving due weight and significance to the achievement of you as graduates.”

He said that Professor Franklin had begun work in UNE’s Department of Philosophy in 1968 and had become a leader in the Department, where he had “nurtured generations of students, giving them the gift of reflection and helping them make the connection between abstract matters and the way in which we live our lives”.

The photograph displayed above, taken last Saturday, shows Professor Franklin in his role as Esquire Bedell.

Dr Torbay welcomed special guests to the ceremony, including Mr Tony Perry, who accepted a testamur on behalf of Wendy Anne Marsden, who died in a car accident in February this year after successfully completing the requirements for a Bachelor of Social Science degree from UNE. “I would like to convey my appreciation that you are here today on Wendy’s behalf, and express my condolences to her family and friends,” Dr Torbay said.

There was prolonged applause from the audience of more than 1,000 people when Mr Perry accepted Ms Marsden’s award.

Mr Perry, who attended the ceremony with another of Wendy Marsden’s close friends, Elizabeth Dunnin, said: “Wendy was an extraordinary woman who, in the closing days of her life – despite poor health and often in much pain – went out of her way to help people whose lives had been devastated by a cyclone.”

“Wendy was killed on her way home from North Queensland in the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi,” he explained. “She can’t claim her degree in person, but her spirit is here with her friends.”

Saturday’s ceremony was the last of UNE’s four Autumn Graduation ceremonies for 2011.

Jess and Laura Brown flew to Armidale from their home in Santa Cruz, California, to attend the graduation from the University of New England today of Zimbabwean student Thelma Chibweza.

Their relationship with Thelma began 13 years ago when Mr Brown went to Zimbabwe as a volunteer with the Citizens’ Network for Foreign Affairs. He stayed with Thelma’s family in their village while working with a local cooperative farm on the development of a business plan, and the relationship continued with his return to Zimbabwe in two subsequent years.

Deciding to help with the education of the family’s children, Mr and Mrs Brown sponsored Thelma through boarding school and then – when she had an opportunity to enrol at UNE – her three-year Bachelor of Social Science degree program. They are also currently sponsoring Thelma’s two young brothers at boarding school.

Thelma said her three years at UNE had been “fantastic”. “It’s been my home away from home,” she said. “I’ve had so much support at UNE, where you get to know lecturers on a one-to-one basis. You don’t get that at many universities.”

And she’s made Armidale her home, settling here with her partner James White. Her aim now is to apply her qualification in social science to “giving back to the Armidale community” whatever she can in return for all that the community has given her.

Thelma said the act of kindness by Mr and Mrs Brown had “blessed” her. “It’s turned my life around,” she explained, adding that she would like to help people in disadvantaged communities in Australia come to “believe in themselves” in a similar way. “No matter who you are, if you believe in yourself you can achieve great things,” she said.

Today’s ceremony, the last of UNE’s four Autumn Graduation ceremonies for 2011, was for people graduating in Arts and Humanities, including the Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences. During the ceremony, the Chancellor, Dr Richard Torbay, presented Mrs Jennifer Crew OAM with the award of Distinguished Fellow of the University after the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, had outlined her 30 years of service to UNE.

“Jennifer Crew joined the University History department as a tutor in 1960, and retired as a Senior Lecturer in 1991,” Professor Barber said. “She was elected Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1987 to 1990, and Assistant Dean from 1990 to 1991. She has also served Mary White College with distinction.”

“Jennifer was elected to the University Council by Convocation from 1994 to 2006, and served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor for six months during that time,” he said. “From 2001 she has been the Secretary of the UNE Alumni Association (Armidale).”

Professor Barber went on to speak about Mrs Crew’s outstanding service to the wider community, including her award of an Order of Australia Medal in 1998 “for service to the Armidale Community, particularly through the North and North-West Legal Service, Guyra Local Aboriginal Land Council, and other community organisations.”

Dr Torbay presented testamurs to more than 243 people at today’s ceremony. Altogether, more than 2,200 people have graduated from UNE this autumn (including those who were unable to attend the ceremonies).

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed above shows Thelma Chibweza (centre) with Laura and Jess Brown.

People travelled to Armidale from around Australia and around the world to graduate from the University of New England in a ceremony at the University today.

During the ceremony the Chancellor of UNE, Dr Richard Torbay, presented about 200 graduands in the Sciences, Health and Medicine with their awards.

Those who came from abroad included Mitra Rashidian, who travelled from her home in Los Angeles where she works as a psychotherapist. While conducting her PhD research and preparing her thesis, titled Understanding the Sexual-selves of Iranian-American Women: A Qualitative Study, Dr Rashidian visited UNE several times. “And I decided definitely to be here for Graduation,” she said. “It’s an honour and a pleasure to be here in this wonderful place that’s given me so much.”

Another graduand from overseas was Tanongson Tienthavorn, who travelled from Thailand with his father, Dr Vichai Tienthavorn, who is the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Payao in Thailand. Dr Tienthavorn, who works at an army hospital and medical college in Thailand, spent four-and-a-half years at UNE studying towards the Doctor of Health Services Management degree he was presented with today. His thesis is titled Managing Pre-hospital Emergency Medical Services of Road Traffic Injuries in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand.

Jennifer Wood from Tamworth graduated with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy cum laude. She is UNE’s first PhD graduate to gain the recently introduced cum laude distinction, which means that her thesis, titled The Influence of Seed Morphology, Ultra-structure and Chemistry on the Milling Quality of Chickpea,  was passed – without the need for any alteration – by all three of her examiners.

Dr Wood studied for her PhD and published several scientific articles while working as a researcher at Tamworth Agricultural Institute and having two children.

The guest speaker at today’s graduation ceremony was Professor Mary O’Kane, NSW Chief Scientist and Scientific Engineer.

Professor O’Kane (pictured above), after observing that UNE had entered its own “era of productivity” over the past few years, urged the graduands to contribute to the nation’s productivity in their future careers by being innovative. “Innovation is the driver of productivity,” she said, “and intrinsic to maintaining our way of life.”

She noted that, after a period of growth in the 1990s, Australia’s productivity had declined since 2003 – a decline exacerbated by factors such as an ageing population and climate change. “This is where you come into the picture,” she told the graduands. “Your country needs you.”

The graduation ceremony at UNE tomorrow (Saturday 26 March), will be for the discipline of Education.

The University of New England, in partnership with Chiway Education Holding Group, is planning a major expansion of its educational activities in China.

The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding at UNE this week opens the way for the expansion of a collaborative arrangement that currently brings about 100 students to UNE each year from China’s Wuxi South Ocean College (WSOC). The MOU renews a decade-old relationship that has been very productive for UNE, Chiway, the students themselves – and the Armidale community, which has welcomed hundreds of students from WSOC over the past decade.

Chiway Education Holding Group owns WSOC, and the discussions at UNE this week have prepared the way for an agreement that would see the expansion of the Wuxi program to include educational institutions owned by – or partnered with – Chiway in 10 other Chinese cities.

UNE first established a relationship with WSOC in 2000. Under the current model, WSOC students enrol in a WSOC Diploma program for 2.5 years and then come to UNE for 1.5 years. The pathway involves business disciplines (particularly accounting), with UNE providing advanced standing for 12 units completed at WSOC.

Mr Qian Jianrong, the President of Chiway Holding Group, visited UNE earlier this week with a delegation from WSOC accompanied by the President of WSOC, Professor Zhou Xiaoxing. Mr Qian was warmly welcomed to the University by UNE’s Chancellor, Dr Richard Torbay, Deputy Chancellor, Mr Scott Williams, and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber. Professor Barber and other members of UNE’s senior leadership team discussed with Chiway the plans to expand the collaborative program to 10 other Chinese cities by 2016. They also discussed possible opportunities for UNE to support further mutually beneficial growth with the Chiway Education Holding Group as it expands its education business in South East Asia.

Professor Barber said the MOU marked the next stage in one of UNE’s most important and successful international partnerships. “We value highly our long-standing relationship with Wuxi South Ocean College and Chiway,” he said, “and look forward to working together to expand the program for our mutual benefit.”

Mr Qian, the Chiway President, said he was pleased to be visiting UNE again, and to be discussing the expansion of a particularly successful educational program and an international relationship that had proved its strength and durability.

The discussions this week, and the signing of the MOU, have paved the way for a detailed evaluation of the expansion plans.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here expands to show Mr Qian Jianrong (left) shaking hands with Professor Barber after the signing of the MOU. Looking on are Mr Chris Patton, UNE’s Chief Development Officer (centre) and Professor Zhou Xiaoxing, President of Wuxi South Ocean College.

“Collaboration and partnerships are the way forward,” said the Chancellor of the University of New England, Dr Richard Torbay, in summing up a discussion on regional development by a panel of experts at UNE yesterday.

The panel discussion, involving the Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government, the Hon. Simon Crean MP, formed part of yesterday’s Regional Futures Summit at UNE. A panel session later in the day, on the National Broadband Network and the digital future for regional Australia, involved the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy.

“Regional development can’t be about Government handouts,” Mr Crean said. “It’s about plugging a market gap.”

“Local people should invest locally, and be creative in identifying the market gap,” he added.

In answer to a question from the audience about local government council amalgamations, Mr Crean said that the “forced” model had “shown its deficiencies”. “The answer has to be driven from the local perspective,” he said. “There has to be local belief that it makes sense to merge.”

Mr Crean, like the other members of the panel, emphasised the importance of greater cooperation between councils. The panel – introduced by Dr Torbay – also included the Member for New England, Mr Tony Windsor MP, Mr Barry Buffier, Deputy Director-General, NSW Industry & Investment, Dr Peter Brain, Executive Director of National Economics, Mr Peter Bailey from the Foundation for Regional Development, Mr Kevin Dupé, CEO of New England Community Mutual, and Mr Hugh Eastwood, Managing Director of Eastmon Group.

Mr Eastwood spoke about the success of his online photo manufacturing company Photo Create, based in Glen Innes, which now employs between 700 and 800 people at various times during the year. “We haven’t experienced any disadvantage in working in a country area,” he said.

Another successful country-based businessman, Mr Scott Williams, was a member of the panel for the discussion on the NBN. Mr Williams is the CEO of the Petals worldwide florist delivery network, based in Armidale. “Our business works locally and sells globally,” he said. “Now, with 60 per cent of our business on the Internet, we need access to competitive bandwidth.”

The other members of the panel included Senator Conroy, Mr Jim Hassell, Head of Product Development and Sales for NBNCo, Professor Mary O’Kane, NSW Chief Scientist and Scientific Engineer, Dr Alex Zelinsky, Group Executive, CSIRO Information Sciences, Professor Annabelle Duncan, UNE’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), and Mr Sean Casey from NBNCo.

Mr Crean and Senator Conroy were the keynote speakers at the Summit. Mr Crean urged his regional audience to “take ownership of the future”. “Localism produces not only efficiency, but an agenda that no government can afford to ignore,” he said.

Senator Conroy said that spending money on the National Broadband Network was, effectively, spending money on health and education, and that “the NBN will fundamentally change the way health care is delivered in Australia”. “It’s what we do with the NBN that’s the most important thing,” he said.

In introducing yesterday’s Summit, the Vice-Chancellor of UNE, Professor Jim Barber, said: “We want to start a fresh debate on these issues across the entire regional community, and the University can lead this debate.”

THE  PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows (from left) Dr Richard Torbay, Mr Kevin Dupé, and Mr Tony Windsor MP taking part in the first of yesterday’s panel sessions. It expands to include the Hon. Simon Crean MP.

The University of New England is driving the agenda for regional issues with a Summit being held at the Armidale Campus today.

The Summit, entitled Setting the Agenda for Regional Futures, brings together a host of leading government, policy, economic and social commentators and technical experts to discuss the issues facing regional Australia.

In attendance are the Hon. Simon Crean MP (pictured here), Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government, as well as the Hon. Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. Both Ministers will address the Summit to provide details on the future directions and the policy environment for regional communities.

“The Summit aims to identify the opportunities for regional communities in terms of investment, broadband and innovation,” said UNE’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber. “We want to start a fresh debate on these issues across the entire regional community, and the University can lead this debate.”

“Regions across Australia need to position themselves at the forefront of business, health and education service delivery,” he said. “We are not just observers, we want to work with our community and the government. That’s the message we want to get out there.”

A panel on regional development issues will be chaired by UNE’s Chancellor, Dr Richard Torbay.

“This Summit signifies a milestone in bringing together expertise that can assist in the rejuvenation of regional Australia,” Dr Torbay said. “As community members and participants in Australia’s progress, we need to seize opportunities like this Summit to come up with concrete solutions for the future.”

“The best result from today will be the galvanising of the regional voice, with the relevant Commonwealth representatives on board to hear the determination we have to steer our progress,” he said.

The Regional Development Panel will bring Minister Crean together with some of the relevant stakeholders including:

Mr Tony Windsor MP, Member for New England; Mr Barry Buffier, Deputy Director-General, NSW Industry and Investment; Dr Peter Brain, Executive Director of the National Institute for Economic and Industry Research; Mr Peter Bailey, CEO of the Foundation for Regional Development; Mr Kevin Dupe, CEO of the New England Community Mutual; Mr Hugh Eastwood, Managing Director of the Eastmon Group.

Minister Conroy will sit on a panel of experts discussing the infrastructure, investment and technological opportunities surrounding the roll out of broadband technology. The speakers and panelists will include:

Mr Jim Hassell, Head of Product Development and Sales, NBNCo; Professor Mary O’Kane, NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer; Dr Alex Zelinsky, Group Executive of the CSIROs Information Sciences; Professor Annabelle Duncan, UNE Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research; Mr Sean Casey, Applications Adviser for the NBNCo.

They will be joined by delegates and representatives from the community, the University sector, regional business and development authorities, government, and education and health sectors.

“UNE is really pleased to be able to present this calibre of expertise to our delegates and showcase what we are all capable of achieving together,”  Professor Barber said.

2010, a year of consolidation and renewal for UNE, began with the arrival of a new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, at the beginning of February.

Professor Barber’s first official function as Vice-Chancellor was at an event characteristic of that consolidation and renewal: the opening of a new, state-of-the-art greenhouse complex for research and teaching within the School of Environmental and Rural Science. The complex includes 25 separate rooms, in each of which temperature and watering can be controlled independently. Research using the new greenhouse facilities is already contributing to national programs – particularly in relation to climate change.

The year ended with a related event: the opening of new laboratories for research into reducing greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture. The “UNE Carbon and Climate Change Research and Learning Facility” is the new home of the UNE-based National Centre for Rural Greenhouse Gas Research – a joint venture between UNE and Industry & Investment NSW – launched in 2009. The Centre is an “offspring” of the Primary Industries Innovation Centre, which is also based at UNE.

The development of collaborative arrangements – with other universities as well as with government and industry – was a major theme for the year, which saw the signing of important agreements with educational institutions both in Australia and abroad. In October Professor Barber and the Chancellor, Dr Richard Torbay, signed Memoranda of Understanding with the University of Sydney, the University of Western Sydney, and TAFE NSW establishing collaborative arrangements aimed at giving more students access to higher education. “While each agreement is unique,” Professor Barber said, “collectively they promote a more inclusive, flexible and responsive higher education environment: one where universities serve the national interest through collaboration rather than dog-eat-dog competition.”

The signing of an agreement with China’s Henan Agricultural University (HAU) in November was one of several agreements with overseas universities ratified during the year. The comprehensive agreement with HAU will enable students who have completed a diploma program or two or three years of a degree program at HAU to complete a UNE degree – with advanced standing – in the areas of accounting, business, biotechnology and molecular genetics, environmental science, animal science, agriculture, and agricultural and resource economics. UNE is currently teaching students from seven Chinese educational institutions through advanced standing and cooperation agreements.

In March Professor Barber officially launched a project – “DEHub” – representative of another aspect of UNE’s collaborative activities.”DEHub” is a collaborative research project that is paving the way for 21^st century developments in distance education. The project, funded by the Commonwealth Government and led by UNE, also involves Charles Sturt University, CQUniversity, the University of Southern Queensland, and New Zealand’s Massey University. Together, these universities form a “hub” of research-based expertise on new developments in distance education practice. Professor Barber said that DEHub was “at the forefront of research and development behind a global educational movement towards distance education”.

Semester 1 ushered in some important new degree courses, including three Bachelor’s degree programs in the field of sport and exercise science, and a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree program. The introduction of these new health/medicine-related courses, capitalising on UNE’s expertise in physiology and biochemistry, followed the successful introduction of the Bachelor of Medicine program conducted in partnership with the University of Newcastle and now at the end of its third year.

The University continued – and consolidated – its productive relationships with the wider Armidale and New England communities through a range of public events. One of the most popular of those events, the annual UNE Schools Acquisitive Art Prize competition and “Let’s Hang It!” exhibition, was held in June – for the seventh successive year – at the New England Regional Art Museum. The competition attracted about 500 entries from 35 schools in 17 towns and cities throughout northern NSW.

For the second successive year, UNE was the major sponsor of Armidale’s annual Sustainable Living Expo (SLEX). Eleven experts from UNE spoke to SLEX audiences about their research in fields related to conservation and sustainability, and the University – which was recognised by the NSW Government in this year’s Green Globe Awards for its commitment to sustainability – was able to demonstrate aspects of that commitment.

While looking ahead and planning for the deregulated higher-education environment to emerge in 2012, the University continues to treasure and build on its proud traditions of excellence in scholarship and its unrivalled reputation for “overall student satisfaction”.

In October, one of the oldest community radio stations in Australia, UNE’s student-run TUNE! FM, celebrated its 40^th anniversary of continuous broadcasting. The celebration included the official opening of new studios, from which TUNE! FM began broadcasting in August.  The Chancellor, Richard Torbay, speaking at the event, said that the station, which provides student volunteers with radio industry training, had “touched many lives”.

Another event that marked the 21^st-century continuation of a long-standing tradition was the arrival at UNE of Dr Randall Pogorzelski, UNE’s first Charles Tesoriero Lecturer in Latin. During a function in November to welcome him, Professor Barber pointed out that Latin was one of the “foundation disciplines” of the University, and said he hoped that the lectureship, established through a bequest by Dr Charles Tesoriero, would be the “cornerstone of world-wide initiatives in teaching Latin”.

UNE has taught geology and conducted research on the geology of the New England region ever since 1939 – the year after its foundation as New England University College. In November, an international conference and reunion of staff members and graduates in Geology at UNE celebrated 70 years of that research. The 160 participants in the “New England Orogen 2010″ conference included the institution’s first Honours graduate in geology, Dr Ken Williams, and its first Doctor of Philosophy in geology, Professor Keith Crook. The first day of the conference was a “Tectonics Symposium”, devoted to papers on the formation of the region of tectonic upheaval known as the New England Orogen. The symposium honoured the significant contribution of the UNE geologist Professor Peter Flood to an understanding of that phenomenon.

The opening of new laboratories at the University of New England this week marks a milestone in a collaborative research program that is attracting millions of dollars of government and industry funding for research into reducing greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture.

Dr Richard Sheldrake, the Director-General of Industry & Investment NSW, officially opened the new laboratories on Monday 13 December, saying that the regionally-driven research program was “unparallelled in Australia”.

The UNE-based National Centre for Rural Greenhouse Gas Research, a joint venture between UNE and Industry & Investment NSW, was officially launched in May 2009. The Centre’s new home, named the “UNE Carbon and Climate Change Research and Learning Facility”, has been established in UNE’s Agronomy Building with funding of $2 million provided to UNE through the Commonwealth Government’s “Better Universities Renewal Funding” scheme, and matching funds for essential analytical equipment provided by Industry & Investment NSW.

The Chancellor of UNE, Richard Torbay, said that the Centre was an “offspring” of the Primary Industries Innovation Centre, also based at UNE, and further developed the collaborative mission of the University and Industry & Investment NSW to address the challenges that climate change presented to primary industries. “This Centre is a testament to our research strengths, and will set the University up for increased opportunities to work in partnership with Industry & Investment NSW in the future,” he said.

Dr Sheldrake emphasised the “world-class” expertise of the scientists and support staff undertaking research at the Centre – research including a project aimed at reducing methane emissions from beef cattle that has received $1.58 million funding from the Commonwealth Government and an additional $120,000 from Meat & Livestock Australia. “For these scientists to reach their full potential they must have access to modern equipment and facilities,” he said. “It is for this reason that I particularly welcome the opening of the Carbon and Climate Change Laboratories here at the campus today.” The facility also supports more than 20 PhD candidates, with a growing number of PhD projects at UNE related to soil carbon and greenhouse gas research.

The Vice-Chancellor of UNE, Professor Jim Barber, thanked Dr Sheldrake, saying: “The Department of Industry & Investment has been a friend and partner of UNE over many years. Today’s opening is a celebration of our ongoing mutual achievements that lead the way in science and research.”

“These Carbon and Climate Change Laboratories will be invaluable to the National Soil Carbon Project,” Professor Barber said. “I am very proud of the continued efforts and commitment of the team here.”

Dr Sheldrake congratulated the Director of the National Centre for Rural Greenhouse Gas Research, Professor Annette Cowie, on her recent appointment to the Domestic Offsets Integrity Committee – the committee that will accredit methods employed by farmers to earn carbon credits under the Commonwealth Government’s new Carbon Farming Initiative. He said the appointment was “recognition not only of her international reputation in this field, but also of the quality of the science being undertaken collaboratively by our two organisations here at UNE through the Primary Industries Innovation Centre and the National Centre for Rural Greenhouse Gas Research”.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows UNE’s Chancellor, Richard Torbay (left), with Dr Richard Sheldrake in front of the plaque marking the opening of the new laboratories. It expands to include (from left) Professor Jennie Shaw (Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of UNE’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences), Professor Jim Barber, Professor Annette Cowie, Renata Brooks (Executive Director, Agriculture & Primary Industries, Science & Research for Industry & Investment NSW), and the Armidale Dumaresq Mayor,  Councillor Peter Ducat.