A total of 200 people donned in gowns and mortar boards became a part of CQU’s ever-increasing, world-wide alumni after attending graduation ceremonies in Rockhampton last weekend.

Two graduation ceremonies were held at the Rockhampton Baptist Tabernacle in Norman Road with graduates from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Education, Faculty of Business and Informatics and Academic Board attending the morning ceremony and graduates from the Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Health and Academic Board attending the afternoon ceremony.

Vice-Chancellor Professor John Richard told graduates that the CQU award they had received not only stood as a record of academic achievement, but was also their entrance to a world-wide community of CQU Alumni.

He wished the graduates continued success and invited them to keep in regular contact with the University so they could keep a track of where each graduate was and what they were doing.

Public Works and Housing Minister Robert Schwarten was given the role as guest speaker in the morning and was later admitted to the admitted to the honorary degree of Doctor of the University in recognition of services to the community and CQU.

Robert undertook teaching studies at the Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education (the forerunner to CQU) before careers as a teacher, union official, city councillor, policy adviser and politician. His wife and one son are CQU graduates and another son is a current student.

Robert is and has always been a proactive advocate of CQU in its relationships with government, industry and the community. This passion for the University has contributed to CQU securing funding for a diverse range of projects such as childcare services, sustainable development, multicultural affairs, engineering and health. All of these projects have contributed to the development of both CQU and the communities in which we operate.

Long-serving CQU staff members Errol Payne and Lesley Warner were also appointed as Emeritus Professors of the University.

Errol was a founding staff member of the institution and Lesley was instrumental in development of the Women Into Science and Technology (WIST) program which has helped thousands of women succeed. Both have served the University in academic, research and leadership positions over many years.

The afternoon ceremony featured a guest address by Professor Julianne Reid, Professor of Pharmacology and medical researcher at RMIT University in Melbourne.

Photo above: Chancellor Rennie Fritschy appoints Lesley Warner as an Emeritus Professor of the University as last weekend’s graduation ceremony in Rockhampton.

Photo left: Errol Payne (with Associate Professor Graham Pegg) after being appointed as Emeritus Professor of the University.