Milestones

APPOINTMENTS

Former Victorian Premier, the Hon Ted Baillieu (BArch 1976) has been appointed joint chair of a new State Government taskforce that will investigate the use of non-compliant cladding on Victorian buildings. Mr Baillieu practised as an architect before turning to politics.

Allan Myers AC QC (BA 1969, LLB(Hons) 1970, LLD 2012, Newman College) has been reappointed Chair of the Board of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. He first took up the position in 2012. Mr Myers is also Chair of the National Gallery of Australia, Chancellor of the University of Melbourne and a governor at the Ian Potter Foundation.

Andrew V Myer (MBA(Exec)II 2003) has been named Chair of the Arts Centre Melbourne Foundation. A well-known philanthropist, Mr Myer continues his family’s long tradition of supporting the arts in Australia.

The Victorian branch of the Australian Dental Association has a new CEO. Dr Matthew Hopcraft (BDSc 1994, MDSc 2000, PhD 2010) has worked in Aboriginal healthcare, and public and private practice in cities and rural communities. He is keen to help improve oral health care for all Victorians, as well as the professional lives of the Association’s members.

Two alumni have been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Victorian Opera. Jane Harvey (BCom 1976, MBA 1982, Ormond College) has extensive experience in the business sector and on state government boards. Associate Professor Stephen McIntyre (BA 1968, Ormond College) has worked in music and education for more than 50 years, including for some of the country’s biggest arts and music festivals.

A Melbourne couple have both been appointed Professors Emeritus. Noel Gough (BSc 1966, GDipEd 1967, BEd 1969, BA 1976, MEd 1976) was conferred as Emeritus Professor at LaTrobe University, while Annette Gough (BSc(Ed) 1973, MEd 1981) was appointed Emeritus Professor at RMIT.

Three alumni have been appointed Vice-Chancellor’s Fellows at the University of Melbourne. They are artist Sally Smart (MFineArt 1991) who will be based at the Victorian College of the Arts; former President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Professor Gillian Triggs (LLB 1967, PhD 1983, International House, Janet Clarke Hall, St Hilda’s College) (pictured) who will be based in the Melbourne Law School; and journalist Ali Moore (BA 1985) who will be based within Asialink.

QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS

A total of 70 alumni, staff and former staff were honoured for their contribution to Australian society in the latest Queen’s Birthday Honours, with three receiving the nation’s top civilian honour – Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AC). The three recipients are winemaker and author Peter Gago (BSc(Ed) 1978) (pictured), barrister Julian McMahon (BA(Hons) 1987, LLB 1990, Trinity College) and economist Professor Ross Garnaut, Professorial Fellow in the Faculty of Business and Economics.

AWARDS

Professor Tony Costello (MB BS 1972, MD 1999, Newman College) is the first Australian to receive the prestigious St Peter’s Medal from the British Association of Urological Surgeons. Professor Costello’s new technique aims to turn advanced prostate cancer from a killer disease to a chronic disease, extending the lives of men affected by it.

Dr Ian Young (BE(ElecEng) 1972, MEngSc 1973, Ormond College) has been awarded the prestigious 2018 Frederik Philips Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world’s largest technical professional organisation for the advancement of technology. The award is given for outstanding accomplishments in the management of research and development that leads to effective innovation in the electrical and electronics industry.

Filmmaker Julietta Boscolo (MFTV(Narr) 2011) has won the Swinburne Award for Emerging Australian Filmmaker at the Melbourne International Film Festival. Let’s See How Fast This Baby Will Go is about a 17-year-old country girl who goes into labour and has only one way of getting herself to the hospital on time.

Dr Kathleen McGuire (BMus 1986, GDipMus 1990) received the Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Surrey. She has worked with orchestras, choirs, ballets, opera and musical theatre across the world, including performances at the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.

Three of State Library Victoria’s 2017 Fellowship recipients are alumni of the University of Melbourne.

Dr Lili Wilkinson (BCA(Hons) 2002, PhD 2016) (pictured) received the Children’s Literature Fellowship and will use the $15,000 to continue writing The Wild Kindness, a post-modern feminist young adult novel which has girls as central characters.

Dr Monique Webber (DipML(Ital) 2009, BA(Hons) 2011, GCertUniTeach 2014, PhD 2013) received the La Trobe Society Fellowship ($15,000) to further her research on Victoria’s colonial history, specifically looking at Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe’s vision for formal gardens in Melbourne.

And contemporary artist Catherine Evans (BFineArt(Hons) 2012) will use her $10,000 from the Georges Mora Fellowship for a large installation and book that will look at the connection between historical documents and how place and history are remembered.

ARTS, BOOKS & ENTERTAINMENT

Director Gary Abrahams (PGDipPerfCreation 2007, MThtrPrac 2008) brought a dangerous French love affair to Australia for a one-night stand. Mr Abrahams adapted the classic French novel Therese Raquin for the Australian stage at the Dirty Pretty Theatre in July.

A Bell Shakespeare contemporary production of The Merchant of Venice, directed by award-winning artist Associate Professor Anne-Louise M Sarks (BDramArt 2007), is touring Australia. It is Ms Sarks’ directorial debut with Bell Shakespeare. It opened in Melbourne in July and is touring nationally, playing at 27 venues.

The MSO has a new assistant conductor. Tianyi Lu (MMus(MusPerf) 2013) began her role in June and will spend two years in an intensive residency under the Orchestra’s Chief Conductor, Sir Andrew Davis. Ms Lu has worked with conductors in New Zealand, Europe and the UK.

Alice Foulcher’s debut feature film That’s Not Me was released at Palace Cinemas nationally in September. The comedy, which sees Foulcher (GDipTV (Narr) 2008, MFTV(Narr) 2010) play an aspiring but not so talented actor, was made with $60,000 and “a lot of favours”. It screened at film festivals in Santa Barbara, Palm Beach, Phoenix, Sydney, Brisbane and New Zealand.

Composer, arranger and performer Matan Franco (BMus(Hons) 2015) is one of four young composers chosen to attend the Australian Youth Orchestra National Music Summer camp. The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music graduate will also complete a Masters in film scoring in Ireland before taking up a one-month residency in Los Angeles.

Carlton’s fabled La Mama Theatre hosted Cynthia Troup’s (BA(Hons) 1992) latest play in June. Undercoat: A Parafoxical Tale was a supernatural tale located in the Australian wilderness.

Zoy Frangos’ (BMusThtr 2012) first role in a major musical was as Judas. For two weeks, Mr Frangos played Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Melbourne Arts Centre.

Award-winning artist Zoe Croggon (BFineArt(Hons) 2012) had exhibitions in three galleries during winter, including the NGV. Ms Croggon studied drawing at the VCA and is inspired by the human form. Collage is her specialty.

A commemoration of British atomic testing in the 1950s was awarded a High Commendation at the 2017 Museums and Galleries Australia national conference. Black Mist Burnt Country is curated by Jan Dirk Mittmann (GDipFTV(Documentary) 1999, GCertIndigArtsMgt 2010) and will tour Australia until 2019.

Actor Ronny Chieng (BCom 2009, LLB 2009) plays lead in the ABC comedy International Student. The role is fitting; Mr Chieng has first-hand experience being an international student, having attended Trinity College. The series was filmed on the Parkville campus.

Betty Feith (GDipEd, BA(Hons) 1951, Queen’s College) and Ailsa Zainu’Ddin (BA(Hons) 1948, MA 1954, BEd 1965, Janet Clarke Hall, Queen’s College) have recorded the history of the Volunteer Graduate Scheme for Indonesia – a 1950s international development program pioneered by the University. Bridges of Friendship: Reflections on Indonesia’s Early Independence and Australia’s Volunteer Graduate Scheme was launched in April 2017.

Author Melanie Cheng (MB BS(Hons) 2001, International House) has just had her debut book published. Australia Day is a collection of stories about migrants who search for ways to belong in Australia. In 2016, she won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Unpublished Manuscript.

Actor Mark Winter (BDramArt 2005) has received a Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship, worth $160,000 over two years. The Fellowship recognises talent and exceptional courage in mid-career artists. Mr Winter was a founding member of The Hayloft and The Black Lung Theatre.

Psychologist Sharon Southwell (BA(Hons) 1992) wrote The Life of Love: An Invitation – Fifty-two Reflections on Emotional and Spiritual Healing. Ms Southwell’s book addresses people interested in the meeting of spiritual, faith-based and psychological resources for healing and flourishing.

Melbourne poet and playwright Gayelene Carbis (MCrWrtg 2010, MWrPerf 2014) published her first book of poetry, Anecdotal Evidence, in June. Ms Carbis’ work has previously been nominated for literary awards in Canada and the Republic of Ireland.

Kylie Trounson (LLB 2004) has been appointed a writer-in-residence with the Melbourne Theatre Company. The MTC program, which offers residencies of up to three years, is designed to nurture talented writers and give them the freedom to explore and test their ideas.

2017 HELPMANN AWARDS

Four alumni have received Helpmann Awards for their outstanding work in theatre. Leticia Caceres (MDramArt (Direction) 2014) won Best Direction of a Play for Belvoir’s The Drover’s Wife; Mark Coles Smith (GCertIndigArtsMgt 2006) won Best Male Actor in a Play for The Drover’s Wife; Anna O’Byrne (BMusPerf(Hons) 2008) (pictured) won Best Female Actor in a Musical for her role in My Fair Lady; and Anna Cordingley (BDramArt 2003, MArtCur 2013) won Best Scenic Design for the Melbourne Theatre Company’s Jasper Jones.