The University of Queensland has conferred its highest honour on one of UQ’s first Torres Strait Islander graduates along with a highly regarded economist and an acclaimed author.  

Aunty Ivy Trevallion, Emeritus Professor Ian Harper AO and Melissa Lucashenko have been recognised with Honorary Doctorates as part of the 2024 end of year graduations.

Widely respected Professor of Virology, Professor Paul Young was recognised with one of the University's highest staff honours, receiving the R.H. Roe Award for his outstanding contributions to teaching, research and community engagement at UQ.

UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry AC said the group thoroughly deserved the accolades.

“Honorary Doctorates celebrate exceptional individuals for their achievements and contributions, whether that be through their careers or personal endeavours,” Professor Terry said.

“There is no doubt that our latest recipients have created lasting impact in the world through social justice and advocacy, economics and policy reform, and the written word.

“It is a pleasure for us to celebrate them and their achievements in this way.”
 

Aunty Ivy Trevallion

Aunty Ivy is a highly regarded social worker and community leader who has dedicated more than 30 years to advocating for Indigenous rights and wellbeing.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work in 1986, becoming one of UQ’s first Torres Strait Islander graduates and was instrumental in the passing of the Meriba Omasker Kaziw Kazipa (Torres Strait Islander Traditional Child Rearing Practice) Act 2020, the first in Australian history to legally recognise a traditional custom.

From Dauan and Saibai Islands, she is currently working as a social and emotional wellbeing counsellor on Thursday Island and the Torres Strait.
 

Emeritus Professor Ian Harper AO

Emeritus Professor Harper is one of Australia’s most distinguished economists with more than 4 decades of experience as an academic leader, expert public policy adviser and trusted consultant to a range of Australian corporations.

He graduated from UQ in 1978 with a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) and worked as an economic researcher at the Reserve Bank of Australia before teaching at the Australian National University and Melbourne Business School, where he served as Dean.

In 2015, he chaired the first comprehensive review of Australia’s competition framework in more than 20 years with the final report known as the ‘Harper Review’.
 

Melissa Lucashenko

Proud Bundjalung woman Melissa Lucashenko is a passionate advocate for social justice, and an acclaimed author whose storytelling captures the experiences of Indigenous communities and provides invaluable insights into their histories, struggles and triumphs.

Ms Lucashenko’s first novel, Steam Pigs, was published by UQ Press in 1997 and won the Dobbie Literary Award for women’s fiction.

In the following 5 years, she produced another 3 critically acclaimed novels – Killing Darcy, Too Flash and Hard Yards, before her 2018 book Too Much Lip was awarded Australia’s most prestigious literary prize, the Miles Franklin Literary Award.
 

Professor Paul Young

Professor Young is a globally respected and internationally recognised Professor of Virology who has made a significant contribution to research into the treatment of viruses and virus diagnostics over 4 decades.

He was appointed a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Microbiology at UQ in 1991 and went on to be Head of the School of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences for 8 years.

In 2020, Professor Young co-led an Australian consortium, including biotech company CSL, that developed a COVID-19 vaccine candidate based on UQ’s proprietary ‘molecular clamp technology’.

The UQ awards will be conferred during graduation ceremonies at the St Lucia campus in December.

 

Media contact

UQ Advancement
Camille Brandon
camille.brandon@uq.edu.au
+61 415 099 092