From the Vice-Chancellor April 2022

Dear Deakin community,

In Australia and the region, the last two weeks have been a time of reflection and remembrance for many, with the observances of Easter and ANZAC Day; Ramadan also concludes on 1 May.

Alongside The Australian Intercultural Society, it was a pleasure to again co-host the annual Iftar Dinner, which is a wonderful opportunity to meet people from across the community and engage in conversation. For many years now, the Iftar Dinner at Deakin has played an important role in bringing together people of different faiths and cultures in a spirit of peace, tolerance and mutual respect.

Ramadan, Easter and ANZAC Day – all three traditions have arisen from very different origins across different cultures, but each one serves to bind communities together by acknowledging sacrifice, prompting reflection and giving thanks.

Continuing this theme of appreciation, Deakin has just launched its 2021 donor impact report, The dKin Difference. This is our second annual report, and we are thrilled to share such a powerful testimony of our activities made possible by the generous support of our many donors. My thanks to those individuals and organisations who enable such a positive impact on our communities.

Our recent round of ‘Grads on the Green’ events has taken place, and I have greatly enjoyed meeting our graduates and their families and friends to help them celebrate their achievements on our campuses in Melbourne, Geelong and Warrnambool. Each student’s success is the result not only of individual effort and sacrifice but is also due to the support – whether direct or indirect – of the people who surround them.

This month, many Deakin staff have been recognised for their excellence in education and research, including:

• Dr Christina Zorbas, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with GLOBE, was awarded the Premier’s Award for Health and Medical Research in Public Health, and
• Rachel Coghlan, PhD candidate from the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership, was awarded a Fulbright Professional Scholarship in Non-Profit Leadership to pursue ground-breaking work in the United States, focusing on palliative care in humanitarian crises

Please enjoy more such stories from across Deakin University in this month’s edition of dKin Times.

Best wishes,
Iain

Vice-Chancellor
Deakin University