{"id":5346,"date":"2015-08-21T07:04:15","date_gmt":"2015-08-20T23:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/the-benevolent-black-hole-staff-recognised-for-long-service\/"},"modified":"2022-12-07T13:07:21","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T05:07:21","slug":"the-benevolent-black-hole-staff-recognised-for-long-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/the-benevolent-black-hole-staff-recognised-for-long-service\/","title":{"rendered":"The Benevolent Black Hole: Staff recognised for long service"},"content":{"rendered":"

When this staff writer joined the University in early 2013, colleagues told her in no uncertain terms that \u2018Curtin is a black hole\u2019. People get sucked in, and they never leave.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a mirthful epitaph, but an equally fond one. People stay because they don\u2019t want to go<\/em>. The work conditions are favourable, job satisfaction rates are high, the culture welcoming and the campus lively.<\/p>\n

On 30 July, Curtin celebrated staff members whose 20, 30 and 40 years of service stand as a great testament to an organisation that cares for its employees and shows it. More than 45 long-serving Curtin employees and their supporters attended the event, as well as members of the University\u2019s Executive Council.<\/p>\n

Opening the ceremony, Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry thanked staff for their dedication and passion over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I have seen, first hand and in a very palpable manner, is that our staff believe in Curtin,\u201d Vice-Chancellor Terry said.<\/p>\n

\"VC-staff-recognition\"<\/a>
“Our staff believe in Curtin.” – Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe soul of this University is its staff and students: their ideas, their creativity, their passion, their innovation, and their commitment make Curtin what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vice-Chancellor also acknowledged the recent period of significant change at Curtin and the challenges this raised for many staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough it was not easy, staff showed huge professionalism and commitment during this time, and I acknowledge and thank our staff for this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"David-Wood-staff-recognition\"<\/a>
“Curtin really is a ‘family’.” – Professor David Wood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Celebrating 20 years at Curtin, Senior Executive Strategic Projects Professor David Wood gave the keynote address. He later reflected on his time at Curtin:<\/p>\n

\u201cCurtin really is a \u2018family\u2019,\u201d says Professor Wood, who completed a PhD in urban and regional planning at the University in 2000 and went on to teach the subject.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the best places to work in terms of the opportunities it provides for interacting with likeminded individuals and especially young people. You really do have the opportunity to change things for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

He fondly remembers his time as a lecturer and tutor \u2013 taking field trips to Exmouth, working with students and watching them develop.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was very important to me as a teacher,\u201d says Professor Wood, who later affected administrative change as Pro-Vice Chancellor, Humanities, before becoming Deputy Vice-Chancellor, International.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Jill-Sherriff-staff-recognition-event\"<\/a>
“I don’t feel I’ve been with the same institution for all that time.” – Associate Professor Jill Sherriff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Associate Professor Jill Sherriff with the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Technology was acknowledged for her 30 years of service. She reflects on the vast changes she has seen at Curtin during this time:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe University has changed so much that I don’t feel I\u2019ve been with the same institution for all that time,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cChanges in the technology associated with our working lives have been powerful. When I first arrived, \u2018the computer\u2019 occupied a large room in a building five minutes\u2019 walk away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Associate Professor Sherriff says the staff are the best part of working at Curtin.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still see my original Head of School in the corridors and now work with some of my past students, which is a joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Curtin\u2019s longest serving staff member recognised on the night was Mr Michael Stack with the School of Pharmacy. He and other staff celebrating 30 and 40 years with the University were presented with a gold watch and a copy of Look Ever Forward: A history of Curtin University 1987-2012. Staff celebrating 20 years received a specially designed lapel pin and a copy of the book.<\/p>\n

This year’s honour roll<\/h2>\n

Forty years of service<\/h3>\n

Mr Michael Stack
\nMs Mary Simpson<\/p>\n

Thirty years of service<\/h3>\n

Mr Lawrie Arnold
\nProfessor Barry Fraser
\nMr Tim O’Sullivan
\nAssociate Professor Jill Sherriff
\nProfessor Ram Ramaseshan
\nMr John Warwick
\nMs Sandra Wilson<\/p>\n

Twenty years of service<\/h3>\n

Mr James Budworth
\nMr Phil Celcer
\nMr Geoffrey Coleman
\nProfessor Tilak Chandratilleke
\nMiss Tram Do
\nProfessor Ravi Fotedar
\nProfessor Kevin Fynn
\nAssociate Professor Natalie Gasson
\nMr Chris Geoghegan
\nMrs Jenny Goodison
\nMr Dominic Howman
\nProfessor Jeff Hughes
\nAssociate Professor Don Ibana
\nMr Kevin Knott
\nDr Brian von Konsky
\nDr Elizabeth Karol
\nMrs Lena Kung
\nMs Julie Langmead
\nMs Toni Lush
\nMrs Lyn Marks
\nMr Lance Martin
\nMr Brad McMurray
\nAssociate Professor Mauro Mocerino
\nMs Dee McCormack Murphy
\nMs Grace Parker
\nMr Malcolm Perry
\nMrs Jillian Pim
\nAssociate Professor Volker Rehbock
\nMr Marco Schultheis
\nMrs Sue Shephard
\nProfessor John Stephens
\nDr Jenny Thornton
\nMr Joe Valenti
\nMiss Charlene Vincent
\nMrs Celia Walker
\nMs Nicole Wilton
\nProfessor David Wood<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At a recent ceremony, Curtin staff who have been with the University for 20 or more years were acknowledged for their outstanding work and dedication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4275,"featured_media":5349,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-5346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-and-global-community"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"Tokens of appreciation","content":"

Look Ever Forward: A history of Curtin University 1987-2012\u00a0<\/em><\/h2>\n

Historian Dr. Susan Hart worked through University archives and met with staff interested in sharing their stories to create a broad-spectrum history of Curtin from 1987, when the institution first gained university status, to the present day.<\/p>\n

Look Ever Forward<\/em> can be considered a companion to Michael White\u2019s book, WAIT to Curtin: a History of the Western Australian Institute of Technology<\/em>, which chronicles the earlier history of the institution. Together, the books span Curtin University\u2019s entire history from its humble beginnings as Perth Technical School in 1900 to the international university we know today.<\/p>\n

20-year service pin<\/h2>\n

Designed by artist and John Curtin Art Gallery Collection Manager Barbara Cotter, the 20-year service pin was inspired by the architectural features of the John Curtin Centre, the university\u2019s physical and symbolic focal point. Since its completion in 1997, the building has become the heart of the campus, just as our staff are considered to be the heart of the university.<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":8618,"id":8618,"title":"look_ever_forward_web-3.jpg","filename":"look_ever_forward_web-3.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/look_ever_forward_web-3.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/the-benevolent-black-hole-staff-recognised-for-long-service\/look_ever_forward_web-3-jpg-2\/","alt":"","author":"4275","description":"","caption":"","name":"look_ever_forward_web-3-jpg-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":5346,"date":"2022-07-01 06:53:32","modified":"2022-07-01 06:53:32","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":792,"height":420,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/look_ever_forward_web-3-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/look_ever_forward_web-3-740x370.jpg","medium-width":740,"medium-height":370,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/look_ever_forward_web-3-768x407.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":407,"large":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/look_ever_forward_web-3.jpg","large-width":792,"large-height":420,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/look_ever_forward_web-3.jpg","1536x1536-width":792,"1536x1536-height":420,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/look_ever_forward_web-3.jpg","2048x2048-width":792,"2048x2048-height":420,"small":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/look_ever_forward_web-3-480x240.jpg","small-width":480,"small-height":240,"xlarge":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/look_ever_forward_web-3.jpg","xlarge-width":792,"xlarge-height":420,"xxlarge":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/look_ever_forward_web-3.jpg","xxlarge-width":792,"xxlarge-height":420,"hd":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/look_ever_forward_web-3.jpg","hd-width":792,"hd-height":420,"uhd":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/look_ever_forward_web-3.jpg","uhd-width":792,"uhd-height":420}}},"related_courses":false,"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":false},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/20-year-service-pin.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Curtin","last_name":"University","display_name":"Curtin University"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-12 04:01:01","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4275"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5346"},{"taxonomy":"research-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-areas?post=5346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}