Eight prominent Australians have been recognised by QUT with Honorary Doctorates for their exceptional service to the community, to scholarship and to the university.
Emeritus Professor Catherin Bull AM, The Honourable Catherine Holmes AC SC, Ms Lindy Lee, Mr Les Malezer, Mr Bob Sharpless, Ms Janine Walker AM, Adjunct Professor Noel J Whittaker AM and Professor Christine Wildsoet have each been awarded the title of Doctor of the University, the highest honorary award bestowed by QUT.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Sheil said awarding Honorary Doctorates acknowledged the recipients’ distinguished contributions and formalised the relationship between them and the university.
“We appreciate the achievements and contributions of the recipients of our Honorary Doctorates and we are looking forward to further engagement as they become part of the QUT community,” Professor Sheil said.
Emeritus Professor Catherin Bull AM has had an illustrious career as an award-winning landscape and urban designer who advocates for better design and development of urban environments.
Emeritus Professor Bull has a long-standing history with QUT, including ties back to the Queensland Institute of Technology (QIT), where as senior lecturer in QIT’s Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, Emeritus Professor Bull led the research study that informed the development of the QIT/Brisbane City Council strategy resulting in the access and beautiful campus outlook enjoyed at Gardens Point today.
The Honourable Catherine Holmes AC SC is a prominent figure in the Australian legal profession who has exemplified excellence in every aspect of her long and distinguished career in criminal, administrative and mental health law.
She was the first woman Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, the highest-ranking court in the State where she served with distinction for over 20 years.
Her recent role as Royal Commissioner into the Robodebt Scheme showcased her unwavering commitment to public administration and her concern for citizens impacted by maladministration.
Her profound legal expertise, coupled with her remarkable judicial temperament, has earned her the respect and admiration of her peers and the wider community.
Ms Lindy Lee is one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists with a significant international reputation, having exhibited in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.
Ms Lee is a founding member of Gallery 4A in Sydney, a former trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, former board member of Artspace (Sydney) and Australian Centre of Photography (Melbourne), as well as a former president of the Asian Australian Artists Association and former deputy chair of the Visual Arts and Craft Fund, Australia Council.
Ms Lee was recently commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) for a $14 million-dollar permanent public artwork for a redesign of the gallery’s entrance – the highest value public artwork commission by the NGA to date.
Mr Les Malezer is a prominent Aboriginal leader, rights activist and researcher who has spent his career fighting for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Mr Malezer has demonstrated expert knowledge on global Indigenous peoples and human rights statutory and was central to the design and preparations for a UN representative body for Indigenous peoples.
He was appointed as a member to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues for the term of 2017 to 2019.
Mr Malezer continues to seek change for legal recognition of First Peoples’ status and rights in Australia.
Mr Bob Sharpless is a visionary entrepreneur who, in partnership with Maha Sinnathamby, developed Springfield - Australia’s first privately constructed city.
The area now boasts a town centre, a golf course, two train stations, a hospital, 11 schools with 15,000 students, a TAFE, a university, and over 50,000 residents.
Mr Sharpless is a passionate ambassador for education and sport, including access for all members of the community.
Ms Janine Walker AM is a human resources expert with a background in health, academia, and broadcasting.
She has held numerous senior management positions including Human Resources Director for Griffith University and Princess Alexandra Hospital, Director of Industrial Relations for Queensland Health, and Industrial Director and General Secretary of the Queensland Public Sector Union.
She has also held a range of board and committee appointments that have resulted in significant service to education, community, health, and to the media.
Adjunct Professor Noel J Whittaker AM was the co-founder of Whittaker Macnaught Pty Ltd, one of Queensland’s largest private financial advisory companies.
He is recognised as one of Australia’s leading and most trusted experts on personal finance – having written 20 bestselling books and reaching more than two million people a week through his columns in major newspapers in every state in Australia.
Adjunct Professor Whittaker has longstanding ties to QUT, having volunteered his time and expertise to the QUT Business School for more than 10 years in the leadership positions of Executive in Residence and Adjunct Professor as well as establishing the QUT Noel and Geraldine Whittaker Learning Potential Fund (LPF) Scholarship
Professor Christine Wildsoet has been a significant role model, mentor and a trail blazing woman in academic optometry and vision science.
Professor Wildsoet is an optometry graduate of a QUT predecessor institution, the Queensland Institute of Technology and was the first optometrist in Queensland to obtain a PhD.
She has sustained outputs of the highest quality over a career spanning more than 40 years, including 20 years of dedicated service to QUT.
The awards will be conferred at future graduation ceremonies, where these amazing individuals will have the opportunity to address our graduands.
“I am delighted to celebrate all of our honorary doctorate recipients and their significant contributions,” Professor Sheil said.
Media contact:
Natassja Sharp, QUT Media, 07 3138 1842, natassja.sharp@qut.edu.au
After hours: 0407 585 901 media@qut.edu.au
