UQ to welcome President Barack Obama

The University of Queensland will host United States President Barack Obama on Saturday, when he addresses a global audience as part of the G20 summit.

President Obama’s address at UQ’s St Lucia campus will focus on US leadership in the Asia-Pacific.

UQ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Høj said it was a momentous occasion for the University.

“It is a tremendous honour for UQ, and will be marked as an historic occasion by many of our almost 50,000 students,” Professor Høj said.

“About 780 of our 11,000-plus international students are from the US, carrying on a UQ-USA tradition that grows ever-stronger thanks to our 7000 US-based alumni and our key US relations.

“UQ will be pleased to welcome not only some of our own students to hear the President speak, but also guests from other universities and schools, in addition to youth leaders who contribute to our society.

“We are delighted to offer the stage so these young people can share the room with President Obama as he gives insights that will affect their futures.”

UQ has a North American office and enjoys partnerships with more than 80 USA-based organisations.

Due to overwhelming demand and limited space, this invite-only event is already full.

Local and international media will attend the event, broadcasting the President’s speech to a global audience. ABC will stream the event live at abc.net.au/news/abcnews24.

Access to UQ’s St Lucia campus will be limited on 14 and 15 November.

Students and staff are advised to avoid travelling to campus if possible.

Several UQ facilities, buildings and sporting facilities will be closed, as will roads and footpaths around the campus.

More detail on closures and campus access will be published on www.uq.edu.au/news/ as it becomes available.

A message from UQ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Høj can be found here. 

Media: Senior Communications Officer Katie Rowney, Katie.Rowney@uq.edu.au  or 3365 3439.

Images and raw footage of the UQ campus is available here: https://uqimages.uq.edu.au/images/assetbox/6f58c9c7-77a1-492a-b311-05a791855a2d/assetbox.html