As we draw toward the last quarter of 2009, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on some of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) highlights of 2009.  I will concentrate on our research achievements in my final communication for the year in November.  This one will concentrate on teaching and learning.

2009 has been a year of intense activity in Teaching and Learning development.  We are delighted that our recently introduced courses including Criminology and Psychology continue to attract good student numbers, and are very optimistic that 2010 will be a bumper year for FAS.  UNE Council has approved a suite of new courses for 2010 - including Bachelors of Pharmacy, Exercise Physiology, Exercise Science, Sports Science, Zoology, Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics with Honours and Master of Urban and Regional Planning.

Trevor Brown assumed the position of Acting Academic Director in April, following the departure of Kerry Dunne.  Trevor has been very active in his role, culminating in the Teaching and Learning Seminar held on 19 August.  For the first time this was part of a broader T&L focus across UNE. The School Awards for Excellence in Learning and Teaching were presented at the T&L Showcase.  This is the first year of these awards that are initiated and funded by the Academic Board Teaching and Learning Committee.  The awards recognise UNE members of staff who have shown ‘exemplary commitment to excellence in learning and teaching and/or who have developed, promoted and/or implemented strategies to achieve excellence in learning and teaching at UNE.’  Another motivation for these awards is to identify staff for nomination for the Vice-Chancellor’s Learning and Teaching awards and ultimately for Australian Learning and Teaching Council citations.

School of Arts.  There were three nominations from the School of Arts that addressed different aspects of learning and teaching - each providing clear evidence of excellence.  

• The Music Team: Andrew Alter, Hugh de Ferranti, Jason Stoessel and Stephen Thorneycroft.
• Paul Adams
• Jane Southwood

School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences

• Anthony Marks.

School of Environmental and Rural Sciences

• Rex Glencross-Grant.

The Faculty also continues to offer strategic T&L Funds on a competitive basis for the development of new courses, upgrade of existing courses and advancement of online teaching.

We pride ourselves on our excellence in Teaching and Learning - including recognition of excellence in 2008 at the domestic undergraduate level in the discipline group of Science, Computing, Engineering, Architecture and Agriculture.  An event to recognise the 2008 Australian Learning and Teaching Council Awards was held in Booloominbah on 12 February.  FAS winners were Kerry Dunne and the German team, and Isobel Tasker.  Kerry provided the vote of thanks on behalf of all of the winners.  Significant numbers of FAS unit coordinators and contributors regularly have units rated as excellent by students, and we received the following Inaugural Vice-Chancellor’s Staff Awards.   Excellence in Learning and Teaching: Ms Therese Burton; Dr Nigel Andrew, Outstanding Interdisciplinary Innovation: Associate Professor John Scott; Dr Robyn Bartel, Dr Darren Ryder, Outstanding Performance and Service:  Associate Professor John Scott.  The website http://lectureroftheyear.com.au lists ten UNE academics of whom six are in FAS - Adam Harris, Gerd Schmaltz, Mark Evered, Suzie Gibson, Janelle Wilkes, and Anne Pender, and congratulations to Jackie Reid who received the VC Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at the Sciences, Medicine and Health Graduation on 27 March and to John Malouff on his Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation for outstanding contributions to student learning.  UNE’s Bachelor of Engineering Technology degree, under the leadership of Rex Glencross-Grant received a number of accolades at the Newcastle Division of the Engineers Australia Engineering Excellence Awards on 8th May, and last but certainly not least, congratulations to Associate Professor Wendy Beck who received UNE’s first ALTC National Fellowship for teaching valued at $100,000.  

Many of the FAS courses are accredited and the visit by Engineers Australia for the Bachelor of Engineering Technology degrees took place on 21 and 22 April.  The degrees are a collaborative venture with USQ and are coordinated for UNE by Rex Glencross-Grant.  In relation to this the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia met at UNE on 6 May. The group was instrumental in supporting the establishment of the new degrees.  The School of Science and Technology has received accreditation from the Australian Computer Society from 2010 for a range of courses.  These include those on offer from Armidale via both internal and external mode and via our partner the International School of Business and Technology (ISBT) in Sydney.

Activities related to teaching and learning include the Primary Industries Centre for Science Education (PICSE).  The fifteen students who participated in the 2008 - 09 UNE PICSE program gave excellent presentations on the outcomes of their experience at a gathering in Booloominbah on 9 February.  UNE academic staff, parents, school teachers and industry collaborators associated with the project attended the event, that was introduced by the Chancellor and wrapped up the Vice-Chancellor.  The event was organised by the UNE PICSE Coordinator Susanna Greig. John Stanley represented UNE and FAS at the AgriFoods Jobs Summit held in Narrabri on 3 July.  The meeting included growers, agricultural support industries, training providers, skills accreditation and job network providers.  It was useful in opening discussion on the expectations of the various groups in relation to the opportunities available and in understanding and exploring attitudes and constraints.

The Hon Richard Torbay launched the UNE-NSW Parliament Rural and Regional Parliament Internship Program on 9 April.  The program allows students to gain first hand experience of working with Parliamentarians via the unit WORK 300/500, and is managed by Belinda Beattie. A workshop for Arts and Education Indigenous students was held on 8 and 9 May at Austin College.  Organised and facilitated by Ms Junette Bell, an Aboriginal research student based in Armidale, the workshop presented academic skills information and related student based learning activities to UNE’s Indigenous students.  A small group of Gumbangarrie Aboriginal Elders attended providing a community presence to support UNE’s Indigenous students.

The launch of the UNE Charles Tesoriero Lectureship in Classics took place on Friday 24 April.  The lectureship is funded via a bequest from the late Charles Tesoriero, a UNE academic in Classics.  Cuncun Wu organised a Chinese Calligraphy exhibition  - Flying Brush, Dancing Ink - that commenced on 30 June.  The exhibition showcases the work of students enrolled in the unit CHIN 211, and also that of Cuncun herself - an accomplished Calligrapher.

These are just some of the recent FAS teaching and learning highlights.  Our intent is to build on this success as we move toward the e-university in 2010.

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