A Noongar scholar, space discovery innovator, Indigenous eye-care advocate and ethno-botanist will be honoured during this month’s winter graduation ceremonies at The University of Western Australia.
Glenys Collard will be presented with an Honorary Doctorate during the four-day winter graduation series, which will see 2,222 students receive their degrees across eight ceremonies from Tuesday July 22 to Friday 25 July.
Ms Collard, an Honorary Research Fellow from UWA's School of Social Sciences, is a Noongar educator and writer from the South West of Western Australia.
She has played a significant role in the ABC of Two-Way Literacy and Learning project, which aims to bridge the gap between Aboriginal English and Standard Australian English.
As a member of Language Lab at UWA, Ms Collard collaborates with academics to research and promote Aboriginal English.
Image: Margaret O’Neill.
Margaret O’Neill, who takes eye care practice to nearly 40 remote Indigenous communities in the Kimberley and Pilbara, will receive an Honorary Doctorate for her contribution to optometry.
Professor Kevin Kenneally AM, from UWA’s School of Agriculture and Environment, has conducted research on the plants and animals of the Kimberley for more than 40 years and will also receive an Honorary Doctorate.
Professor Peter Quinn, founder of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research and Chairman of the International Space Centre at UWA, will receive a Chancellor's Medal for sustained and outstanding contributions to the University.
Professor Quinn was last year inducted into the WA Science Hall of Fame in recognition of his outstanding and lifelong contribution to astrophysics, including his role in establishing the world’s largest and most sophisticated radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array, in WA.
Image: Doctor of Pharmacy graduate Emma Engelke.
The ceremonies will include the first Doctor of Pharmacy graduates, the first major cohort of Bachelor of Engineering Honours students, the Law School’s first Master’s graduates from its articulation agreement with the East China University of Political Science and Law, and the first cohort of Bachelor of Philosophy, Politics and Economics Honours graduates.
Guest speakers include Cassandra Winzar, the Chief Economist at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia; Dr Glenda Oh, a rising leader in Australia’s sustainability sector; and Winthrop Professor Gerald Watts, a leading authority in cardiometabolic medicine.
More than 4,000 students’ family and friends are expected to converge on UWA’s Crawley campus for the festivities, with the first graduation starting at 11am on Tuesday 22 July.