Community leaders honoured at UQ graduations

The work of two local leaders towards peace and reconciliation will be recognised at University of Queensland Arts and Social and Behavioural Sciences ceremonies on Monday, December 4 at the UQ Centre.

• Jackie Huggins, AM, will be guest speaker and receive an honorary doctorate at an 11am ceremony.

Of the Bidjara (Central Queensland) and Birri-Gubba Juru (North Queensland) peoples, Ms Huggins is known internationally for her work as an author, historian and activist, and has served as the deputy director of the University’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit since 1997.

Becoming a Member of the Order of Australia in 2001 for services to the Indigenous community, Ms Huggins has served on numerous boards and is currently a Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia and a director of both the Telstra Foundation and the Australian Centre for Indigenous History.

• Guest speaker and recipient of an honorary Doctor of Letters at a 2pm ceremony will be Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, The Most Reverend John Bathersby, DD.

Completing his training for the priesthood in 1961, Archbishop Bathersby spent his first seven years as a priest in Goondiwindi, before being sent to Rome for further studies, completing his Doctorate in Theology and Spirituality in 1979.

Appointed Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane in 1992, Reverend Bathersby served as a UQ Senator for 14 years and is Deputy President of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Chair of the Bishops’ Committee for Justice, Development, Ecology and Peace.

• ABC broadcaster and producer Sarah Kanowski will present the guest address at a 6pm ceremony.

A first-class honours graduate and UQ University Medallist, Ms Kanowski holds a Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford, and is a producer with Radio National’s Late Night Live program presented by Phillip Adams.

• Bachelor of Social Work (honours) graduand and valedictorian Cheryl Kuipers will address the 11am ceremony, while Bachelor of Arts graduands Timothy Johannessen and Jenessa Brown will make the valedictory address at the 2pm and 6pm ceremonies respectively.

• Director-General of the Department of Education, Training and the Arts Rachel Hunter will be guest speaker at a separate School of Education graduation ceremony on Wednesday, December 6 at 6pm.

In a career with the Queensland Public Service spanning almost three decades, Ms Hunter has worked in various roles, most notably as the former director of the Southbank Institute of TAFE.

Bachelor of Education (honours) graduand Christina Gowlett will be the valedictorian for the ceremony.

Media: Cameron Pegg at UQ Communications (3365 2049, c.pegg@uq.edu.au)