National teaching awards for two Macquarie educators 

Macquarie’s commitment to student learning and teaching excellence has been recognised, with Dr Joel Fuller, Department of Health Sciences and Dr John Turchini, Macquarie Medical School receiving citations at the 2022 Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT). 

Both were awarded in the health category for their approaches to teaching and support of learning that influences, motivates and inspires students.  

For the past six years, Fuller has convened, lectured and tutored first-year masters-level fundamentals to aspiring physiotherapists in the Doctor of Physiotherapy course. With this award, he has been acknowledged for his excellence in inspiring and supporting postgraduate physiotherapy students through innovative teaching and the creation of authentic, student-centred and practical learning approaches.  

Turchini has more than 10 years’ experience teaching anatomy, histology and pathology and his approach to teaching is to influence, motivate and inspire students to learn. His goal is to transform otherwise dry subjects into exciting and engaging topics through gameplay and interactive lessons. He has been recognised for his innovative approaches to teaching that inspire students to consider pathology as a career, and he is an example himself as a practicing histopathologist at Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology.  

The Awards were established in 1997 by the Australian Government to celebrate and reward excellence in university teaching. Since then they have become a valued form of recognition for university educators that acknowledge the positive impact they have on students.  

Congratulations to the 2022 recipients. 

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Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite appointed to international commission on improving mental health services. 

Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite, Founding Director of the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, has been appointed to a prestigious international commission on improving mental health services. 

Braithwaite has been appointed as Commissioner of The Lancet Commission on Transformative research to scale mental health interventions. 

This prestigious international appointment reflects Braithwaite’s leadership in the field of implementation science, developing strategies and methods to facilitate the uptake of evidence-based research into regular use to improve the health system. 

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Macquarie staff receive Medals of the Order of Australia 

Congratulations to the Australia Day 2023 Honours List recipients from Macquarie University, who have been recognised for their excellence and contribution to our society. 

Emeritus Professor Peter Curson, Department of Health Sciences, has received an Honorary Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in recognition of his service to tertiary education.  

A population geographer with a strong interest in medical geography and population health, Curson is Emeritus Professor of Population and Health, a former Head of Human Geography and a former Dean of the Division of Environmental and Life Sciences.  

With a career spanning 50 years, he has held professorships at both Macquarie and Sydney universities. He has written extensively on infectious disease epidemics and pandemics and how communities respond to them; his most recent publication is a book on the Black Death in Australia. 

Honorary appointments to the Order of Australia are made to people who have given extraordinary service to Australia but are not Australian citizens.  

The medal will be presented at a ceremony at Government House later this year. 

Dr Coral Kemp, Honorary Senior Lecturer from Macquarie School of Education, was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her contribution and service to special needs education. Kemp joined Macquarie University as a lecturer in 1991 and has been an Honorary Senior Lecturer since 2015. She has received several awards for her service, including Outstanding Contribution to Special Education by the Australian Association of Special Education in 2017. 

Emeritus Professor Richard Howitt, School of Social Sciences, was awarded Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for his significant service to education and to the Indigenous community. Joining Macquarie University in 1992, Howitt’s work as a geographer has been commended for its innovation and significance over time.  

As a non-Indigenous Australian, Howitt’s research focuses on Indigenous rights and the interface between Indigenous communities, natural resource development, governments and corporations at the scales of the project, the community, the landscape, and the nation. 

Dr Michael Mitchelmore, Honorary Associate Professor from Macquarie School of Education, was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his service to mathematics education and to the community. Mitchelmore joined Macquarie University in 1990, working at various times as Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, Associate Professor of Education, and Director of the Centre for Research in Mathematics and Science Education. Mitchelmore has been an Honorary Associate Professor since 2012. 

A number of Macquarie alumni were also recognised, including respected Aboriginal elder Patricia Ellis (Advanced Diploma in Community Management, 1999; Bachelor of Community Management, 2007) who received an OAM for her work in revitalising the Aboriginal Dhurga language.