I am writing to advise that Curtin’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deborah Terry, has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland, one of the top two Australian institutions in the 2019 Academic Ranking of World Universities. This is a fitting recognition of her skills and achievements, and also the university where she spent many years of her career before joining Curtin.
When Debbie took up her position at Curtin in 2014, it was in sound financial shape and well positioned to explore new opportunities for change and growth. She has continued the University’s positive trajectory during her tenure, taking its reputation and impact to the next level.
She has personally led a transformation of the culture of our University, showing how values can be lived and used in everyday decisions to make the One Curtin philosophy a truly shared priority.
The University is now consistently ranked in the top one per cent of universities internationally and continues to be the destination of choice for school leavers in WA. We have opened a medical school and created a major presence in the Perth CBD, including the Curtin Law School and new engagement and teaching venues on Saint Georges Terrace. We are also progressing the Exchange development in order to turn our Perth Campus into a lively urban precinct and innovation hub.
On behalf of the Curtin Council I would like to express our deep appreciation for Debbie’s outstanding leadership of the University for the last six years.
Curtin today is a global university, having formalised and expanded our overseas campuses in Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai and Mauritius and deepened our relationships with significant international universities, including the Universities of Aberdeen and Calgary.
Our Vice-Chancellor has also ensured we are focused on being international, innovative and industry-connected, resulting in Curtin being recognised in Australian and global rankings as making a significant impact in teaching, research and on society.
Debbie will be the first to say that this progress has been achieved through the efforts of all of us, and this is true, but I would like to acknowledge and thank her for her leadership.
Debbie will be with us until early August 2020 and we will formally recognise and thank her for her inspirational leadership. Our strong leadership team will continue to build on the gains made during Debbie’s vice-chancellorship.
We will continue to focus on our values, on genuine cross-university collaboration and strive to achieve excellence in everything we do. I am confident we will continue to thrive into the future.
Your Council has already started the process of selecting a replacement. We believe the Vice-Chancellorship of Curtin is a very attractive position and will attract an impressive field of candidates from across the globe.
I will be in touch with regular updates on how that progresses and seeking feedback and suggestions from our Curtin community, including the student body, on what you see as being important in our next VC.
With kind regards
Dr Andrew Crane
Chancellor
