CQU has conferred the Honorary Award of Companion of the University on Nita Cunningham, in recognition of her outstanding support for the University and the wider Bundaberg community.

The award was conferred during last Thursday's CQU Bundaberg graduation ceremony.

Nita Cunningham with Dr Helen Huntly and the University Mace

Nita Cunningham was elected to the Bundaberg City Council in 1988 and served as Mayor of Bundaberg from 1991 until her election to the Queensland Parliament in 1998.

Nita was only the second woman ever elected to the City Council, the first to be Deputy Mayor, the first woman Mayor of Bundaberg, the first woman to represent Bundaberg in any Parliament and the first Member for Bundaberg (male or female) to be elevated to the Queensland Parliament Cabinet in 47 years.

She was Deputy Chair of the Bundaberg Port Authority and on the Council of this University from 1990-1998.  She was appointed to the Ministry in November 2000, serving as Minister for Local Government and Planning until the 2006 election, when she resigned.

It was during her time as Mayor of Bundaberg that Nita joined a team of local politicians and business and education leaders with a view to establishing a university campus in Bundaberg.

Negotiations with the then Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education saw the establishment of a small presence in Bundaberg in 1987.

When the premises were no longer large enough to accommodate the increasing enrolments, Nita used her political and professional influence to secure a large parcel of crown land on the outskirts of the city to establish a dedicated campus.   Nita worked hard to see this project through to fruition. 

Over the years, Nita has continued to support CQU and the Bundaberg Campus through her political affiliations, and the campus and its staff and students have remained a high priority for her.  She has always made herself available for official functions and her interest in and support of CQU is well known throughout the district. 

Nita Cunningham with family members at the graduation 
BLM and BioMed graduates
Nursing graduate Makaylia Walsh and family
Nursing graduates
PhD graduate Wendy Davis, with Karen Seary from STEPS and Maths Learning Centre lecturer Jinx Atherton.