Before we all leave for the holiday break, there are a few things to keep in mind. Read the End of Year Checklist.

If you need support during the holiday season, please utilise the following counselling and advisory services available for ANU staff members and their immediate families under the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Choose from:  

Assure – 1800 808 374 (24/7 crisis hotline) 

Relationships Australia – 02 6122 7100 

Lifeline Canberra – 13 11 14 (24/7 care). Please also utilise Lifeline Canberra if other services are disrupted during the end of year closure. 

For more support services, please visit ANU Mental Health Resources.

Urgent communications during the shutdown will be provided through two channels listed below. Please make sure you are contactable during this period using the below systems:

ANUOK App – download the app and turn on push notifications.

Emergency contact details – make sure your mobile number listed in HORUS is up to date in case we need to use it. 

A reminder to think about your parking options on campus for 2024.

For more information on parking, visit Transport & parking. For a greener commute, consider using public transport or walking/cycling to campus.

For fees, visit 2024 parking fees.

American tulip tree planted in honour of Professor Schmidt in Kambri. Image: ANU.

A 1.8m American tulip tree (liriodendron) has been planted in Kambri in Professor Schmidt's name. It was chosen as it demonstrates that an American import can thrive in Australian conditions.   

The tree lives in the heart of Kambri – a project under Professor Schmidt's leadership which has become one the most transformative single development in the University’s history.  

As the tree grows and thrives, it will give shade and shelter to our community and become part of our flourishing bush campus.

Jesse T Martin (Wagadagam-Yuin/Senpol-Lapa peoples) (2023) Dapar, The Universe. A Life Beyond.
The Brian P Schmidt Story [acrylic on canvas], Australian National University Art Collection, Canberra, © Jesse T Martin, courtesy: ANU. 

Dapar, The Universe. A Life Beyond. The Brian P Schmidt Story. 

Wagadagam and Yuin man and artist Jesse T Martin painted a beautiful piece of Indigenous artwork which has been added to the ANU Art Collection in honour of Professor Schmidt, titled Dapar, The Universe. A Life Beyond. The Brian P Schmidt Story. 

"This story is that of life. Connected, purposeful and loved. The story of energy, connection, impact and of man and Dapar/Universe/Heavens/Sky together seeking to understand the very nature of themselves."

Words by artist Jesse T Martin. 

Jesse T Martin is a Wagadagam and Yuin man. His art is taken from both his Aboriginal and Torres Strait heritage, upbringing and culture. He was taught from a young age by his elders around his identity, culture and political standing and cause of his people. This has gone on to influence and shape his artistic works and highlighting the stories, culture and fight of his people. Jesse utilises both traditional design and contemporary techniques in his work as well as drawing on the stories, culture and knowledge to create his works.

Recipients of the 2023 Chancellor's and Vice-Chancellor's Awards. Image: ANU.

During the Vice-Chancellor’s End of Year Garden Party on Friday 15 December, the ANU community honoured individuals who have made exceptional contributions to our University.

The annual awards are an opportunity for the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor to recognise the achievements of individuals and teams who have made outstanding contributions to research, education and the campus community.

Read the list of recipients in our special edition of On Campus

As is University tradition, the Vice-Chancellor has starred in an End of Year Video Message for the ANU community. 

This year is the 57th anniversary of the airing of the very first episode of the 'Mission Impossible' TV series, and coincidentally it's airing was also only a few months before our VC was born.

To celebrate Professor Schmidt's final week in the VC role, this last video is titled Schmidt: Impossible. As the series, and the life and career of Professor Schmidt have taught us, no mission is truly impossible! 

Watch the video 

A leading consent and respectful relationships program develop by ANU has been internationally recognised for best practice with a global university award. 
 
The Rights, Relationships and Respect program won gold in the Nurturing Values and Ethics category in the 2023 QS Quacquarelli Symonds Reimagine Education Awards, presented in Abi Dhabi last week.  

Following the award, QS released the following statement. 

“This project has achieved a world-class standard in educational innovation, being chosen as one of the leading applications from a cohort of 1200. The awarded application achieved outstanding levels of scalability, innovation and efficacy and underwent four rounds of evaluation led by a group of 900 international higher education and edtech expert judges."

Read more

Colleagues,

Further to some feedback, I would like to share to an update on where we stand in relation to the ANU Arts and Music Library:

Work to fix the damage caused by the January 2020 hail storm will unfortunately cause the A&M Library to close for all of Semester One 2024. There is nothing we can do to prevent that - the work is essential, safety is our highest priority and there will be a range of hazards in the building while the repair work is underway. We had initially hoped the contractors would be able to avoid closure of the building, but their assessment is that the building must fully close to all staff and students for their safety. 

As a consequence, to minimise disruption, most of the A&M Library resources will be available in the Chifley Library from January, which will make the material accessible 24/7.  Some items will be stored offsite, but ANU has always sent older and lesser used material offsite for storage (for example journals over 20 years old). Where staff or students need access to offsite items, these can be scanned and shared within 24 hours. Or where they require a physical version, it will be available within two working days.

We realise this essential move will be disruptive, and we are sorry for the inconvenience. We are also sorry we haven’t been as clear in our communication as we should have been.

Let me reassure you we are well aware of the community’s strong feelings about this Library and we are committed to co-designing its future with ANU Music, Art and Design staff and students. This means no decisions have yet been made about the future of the A&M Library space when the hail remediation work is completed in mid-2024, and we will commit to meaningful consultation with staff and students through semester one on ideas and options, which will include retaining the space as the A&M Library. However, it is important to note that the University’s financial plan requires that ANU spends its money very prudently and in line with our strategy, so we must always be mindful of our resources when we make decisions.

Details of the co-design process will be shared in the new year.

Best wishes,

Chris Price, Chief Operating Officer 

This week we are excited to share the news of two new senior appointments for the University and some great progress on other positions.  

Executive Director, Sir Roland Wilson Foundation 

Following a competitive recruitment process we are delighted to announce that Rebecca Gibb has accepted the role of Executive Director, Sir Roland Wilson Foundation. The Foundation is a crucial collaboration between ANU, the Australian Public Service and Charles Darwin University.  

Rebecca may be familiar to many having contributed significantly to the Foundation throughout her secondment from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade over the past year and a half. With an impressive career leading international development cooperation and scholarship programs in Australia and the Asia-Pacific Region, including the New Colombo Plan and Australian Awards, Rebecca is well positioned to assume this role.  

We look forward to the future of the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation under Rebecca’s stewardship.  

Director, Residential Experience  

Felicity Gouldthorp has been appointed as the Director of the Residential Experience Division after an extensive and competitive international search. Felicity has been leading Residential Experience as Interim Director since May this year.  

Many of you will know Felicity from her previous roles across ANU, having worked at ANU for 17 years in roles in the Student Administration, Academic and Advancement portfolios. In her time at the University Felicity has led or delivered many significant University-wide projects, including the implementation of the ANU Flexible Double Degrees, supporting the OVC and Tjabal Centre on the establishment of the Kambri Scholars Program, and collaborating with the University Experience Division to implement the ANU Rights, Respect and Relationship program within our residences.  

We are very grateful for Felicity’s leadership of the Division during 2023 and delighted to continue working with Felicity into the future.  

Key Updates  

There are a number of search processes for key University leadership roles that will continue over the holiday period in to 2024. These are all progressing well and we look forward to sharing more information with you in the new year.  

Provost and Senior Vice-President – Applications are currently open and will close on 21 January 2024. 

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) – Progressing well with the intention for an appointment announcement in January 2024.  

University Secretary and Director, Governance and Risk – Progressing to interviews in January 2024.  

Chief Financial Officer – Applications have just closed overnight, and the process continues in the new year. 

To stay connected to our community and leadership team, keep reading On Campus every Tuesday for updates on key new appointments and movements. 

Director, University Experience 

Dr James Brann, Director of University Experience, has accepted a new role as Pro Vice-Chancellor Student Equity and Success at the University of Tasmania. 

During his time at ANU, James has provided outstanding leadership for significant positive change. Most notably, James has implemented the Sexual Violence Prevention Strategy including building and supporting key teams and vastly improving our prevention and response programs. James has worked closely with student bodies, developing trust and overseeing the merger of ANUSA and PARSA. He has successfully transitioned the ANU Medical Centre to an in-house model, sponsored significant improvements to how we onboard students, and implemented a new triage system for the counselling and Student Safety and Wellbeing services to ensure students are supported in a timely manner.   

We wish James all the very best in his new role and thank him for his outstanding service to ANU.  

University Secretary and Director, Governance and Risk 

Last week Belinda Farrelly, the University Secretary, notified the Chief Operating Officer of her decision to leave the University in April 2024. 

Since joining the University in 2014, Belinda has held senior positions in Facilities and Services, Human Resources, and was General Manager, College of Asia and the Pacific and Registrar, Student Life. During her time at the University, Belinda led many complex change projects, and was a key leader in implementing the University's Recovery Plan in 2020 and 2021. Her experience and advice has helped colleagues across ANU, and her knowledge, skills, problem solving abilities and institutional memory on complex matters will be greatly missed. 

We wish Belinda all the very best in her new chapter.  

In September, a new emissions reduction target was set to take the University closer to meeting its climate goals of limiting our contribution to climate change. Travel is the University's largest single source of emissions, and the path to reaching our goal in this sector may be easier than you think. Already, our emissions are down significantly from 2019 due to the pandemic and practical decision-making after COVID. 

Professor Sally Wheeler, former ANU academic and executive staff member, sat down with ANU Below Zero to reflect on her motivations for making travel decisions, how she has learned to travel smarter and share her commitment to creating lasting change in the university sector because of her time at ANU.  

Read how she found a synergy between travelling internationally and the health and wellbeing of herself and the planet. 

Congratulations to the successful Academic Promotion applicants, who will be promoted effective 1 January 2024. 

Read the list of successful applicants for 2023 

While we’re off on our holiday break, why not spend some time perusing ANU Reporter? 

Top stories include The life of Brian, Genetics, truth and justice and Making his own kind of music. 

The Australian National University acknowledges, celebrates and pays our respects to the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people of the Canberra region and to all First Nations Australians on whose traditional lands we meet and work, and whose cultures are among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.