When Rebecca Grant walks across the stage of the CQU Rockhampton graduation this Saturday (March 11), she will represent an academic dynasty linked to CQU since 1967.

The dynasty includes 4 CQU graduates and 3 current CQU students.

Rebecca's grandfather Ray Boyle started the family association with CQU in 1967 when he enrolled in the University's predecessor institution, QIT Capricornia, to complete subjects for his Associate Diploma in Mechanical Engineering with the then Queensland Institute of Technology (now QUT).

Mr Boyle became Chief Engineer at Mount Morgan Mine and, in the early 1980s, continued his link to CQU (then known as Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education) as an invited member of the Director's Special Collections (Library) Advisory Committee. Before leaving Mount Morgan Limited, he convinced the company board to donate all its archival material to the CIAE and this now constitutes the Mount Morgan section of the University's Capricornia Collection.

After leaving the mine, Mr Boyle joined CIAE in 1983 as a part-time tutor in engineering and worked in various academic capacities, through various institutional name changes, until 2000. During this period he completed a Master of Arts in History and was awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Excel Award for his work with the Faculty of Engineering.

Mr Boyle enrolled with CQU again in 2005 - almost 40 years after his first enrolment - to pursue a PhD related to Mount Morgan Limited.

Behind the scenes, the Boyle family was also forging links with CQU. Ray's second daughter Louise (now Grant) graduated with a Business degree in 1980. His third daughter Helen (now Barlow) graduated with an Arts degree in 1983. His fourth daughter Rachel (now Jones) graduated with an Arts degree in 1990 and now his eldest granddaughter Rebecca Grant is due to graduate on Saturday with a Nursing degree.

Ray is also delighted to be enrolled at CQU at a time when his eldest daughter Suzanne (now Anstey) is enrolled in a Psychology degree and his granddaughter Grace Anstey is enrolled in an Early Childhood (Learning Mangement) degree.

"Sue and Grace will graduate in 2009 and the pressure is on me to complete my PhD to graduate at the same time," Mr Boyle said.