President and Vice-Chancellor's message

Welcome to this October edition of dKin Times.  

This month I attended the Deakin Alumni Awards, one of my favourite events for the year. It was a fabulous evening as we celebrated the achievements of a truly exceptional group of alumni.  Through their career achievements and engagement with their communities, this year’s Alumni Award winners set a superb standard for our current students, indeed for all of us, to work hard to emulate.

Congratulations to our 2017 Deakin Alumni Award winners:
Lifetime Achievement Awards: Dr David Parkin OAM and Auntie Joan Vickery AO
Alumni of the Year: Ms Tracey Gaudry
Young Alumni of the Year: Mr Dean Landy
Community Service: Dr Nicole Weber

Deakin’s reputation as a university is defined by the achievements of all its alumni. We now have 231,609 graduates who have received a Deakin degree and who every day are making a difference in the world as leaders in their professions, in industry, commerce and in government.

Reflecting on our growing alumni and our joined reputation, I was reminded of characteristics I see in all Deakin graduates:  a ‘can do’ approach to the task at hand however large or small, and a commitment to the values of excellence, equity, collegiality and the public good. It’s an important reminder of why throughout its history, students have always come first at Deakin. Our most important role as a university is that through our graduates we transfer knowledge and innovations to the world beyond our campus, impacting on our communities locally and around the globe.

I encourage you to read some of the stories of Deakin Alumni and please consider sharing your own story.  

Do keep in touch with us – there are end of year events coming up in Warrnambool, Geelong and Melbourne and for those working overseas, events coming up in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.
I hope you enjoy this month’s dKin Times.

Jane den Hollander AO
President and Vice-Chancellor