ACDS newsletter – June 2025 Posted in News, Research, Teaching and Learning on July 2, 2025 by Glenda Key. Welcome to the second of our quarterly newsletters of the ACDS for 2025. This newsletter includes updates from the ACDS, some highlights at the national level, including new appointments, and a summary of recent and upcoming ACDS events and activities and concludes with a recent article by Moira O’Bryan (Dean of Science at the University of Melbourne) on Why I choose to be a Dean of Science. Professor Brian Yates ACDS Director of Strategic Communications and Engagement Welcome to new Science Deans: Sarina Claassens, Dean of Science at Curtin University. Farewell and thank you to outgoing Science Deans: Thank you to Mark Buntine (Curtin University) for all his leadership and contributions as Dean of Science. Thank you to Kat Falkner (University of Adelaide) for her contributions as Executive Dean, and congratulations to her on her new position as PVC Learning and Teaching at the new Adelaide University. We thank both Mark and Kat for their thoughtful contributions to the previous ACDS Executive. We also take this opportunity to thank Shaun Collin for his valuable contributions too; Shaun stepped down from the Executive at our recent AGM but continues as Dean at La Trobe University. Please use the following link for an up-to-date list of ACDS member universities, and their corresponding Deans or member nominees. Report of ACDS Annual General Meeting – April2025 Panel discussion: Reflections on university science – past, present and future: A fascinating panel discussion was held at the beginning of our AGM reflecting on the importance and challenges of university science. A thought-provoking summary is available as a pdf on our website here. New ACDS Executive committee: Congratulations to our new committee elected at the AGM. The details are shown on our website. Meet your ACDS Executive members Professor Jacqui Ramagge is Executive Dean UniSA STEM and President of the ACDS. She has served as Executive Dean Science at Durham University (UK), Head of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sydney and Head of Mathematics and Applied Statistics at the University of Wollongong. Jacqui has published in mathematics, statistics, control theory, and behavioural science. She has been Chair of the Australian Council of Heads of Maths and Stats, President of the Australian Mathematical Society, and Chair of Australian Laureate Fellowship Selection Advisory Committee of the ARC. Jacqui is a Fellow of the Australian Mathematical Society and of the Royal Society of NSW Professor Marcel Dinger is Dean of Science at the University of Sydney and Secretary/Treasurer of the ACDS. With 22 years of experience in genomics, he has co-founded four biotech and IT start-ups and serves on the boards of Pryzm Health and GenieUs, focusing on AI-driven healthcare and neurodegenerative disease therapies. He chairs the Australasian Genomics Technologies Association and previously led UNSW’s School of Biotechnology. Marcel also served on the governance boards of the National Centre for Indigenous Genomics and Scientia Clinical Research, contributing to Indigenous health and early-stage clinical trials. His career bridges academia, entrepreneurship, and leadership in genomics innovation. Professor Adam Trevitt is a physical chemist at the University of Wollongong, where he serves as Head of the School of Science. His research focuses on gas-phase ion chemistry, utilizing advanced techniques like laser photodissociation spectroscopy, ion mobility, and mass spectrometry to study radical reactions, isomerization and photochemistry. Current active applications of these techniques are in photo-initiators for surface coatings, reactive molecules in atmospheric chemistry and photo-modification of drug molecules. Professor Megan Smith, with over 25 years in higher education, has been a significant leader in regional education. As the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science and Health at Charles Sturt University since 2019, she has driven strategic and inclusive leadership. Her career highlights include founding the Charles Sturt School of Rural Medicine, the Biosecurity Training Centre, and the Three Rivers Department of Rural Health. Known for her supportive leadership, she is dedicated to improving rural science and health outcomes through genuine partnerships and fostering new graduates prepared to address rural challenges. Professor Troy Farrell was appointed as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science at QUT in 2021, providing intellectual and strategic leadership to develop and implement the Faculty’s vision and strategy, as well as interpret current trends and issues in the higher education sector with reference to the University’s core principles. He leads the Faculty into the future by building on its strong reputation as a local, national and international leader in the fields of biology and environmental science, chemistry and physics, computer science, earth and atmospheric sciences, information systems and mathematical sciences. Professor Simon Ellingsen commenced as Executive Director of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (a Joint Venture between Curtin University, UWA and the WA State Government) in 2024. Prior to that he was the Dean of Natural Sciences at the University of Tasmania. Simon is an astrophysicist who has specialised in the study of how the largest stars form, the structure of the Milky Way and recently, space domain awareness. Professor Mark Osborn is the Dean of Science at RMIT University where he leads a School comprising five Departments spanning the natural, physical and mathematical sciences, with over 250 academic and research staff and educating over 3000 students. Mark joined RMIT in 2013 after prior academic and research roles in the U.K. and Germany. Mark held prior Associate Dean roles at RMIT leading Biosciences and Food Technology and in Student Experience including major contributions in curriculum redevelopment. Mark is a molecular microbiologist and environmental scientist whose research explores impacts of human activities on microbial processes across natural and engineered systems. Professor Melissa Brown is Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Queensland and Immediate Past President of the ACDS. She became President of the ACDS at the end of 2020 and has been a strong champion of the importance of teaching and research in science in universities, of mentoring and support for Deans of Science, and of inclusion, diversity and equity. The focus of Melissa’s research is cancer genetics, in particular understanding the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of breast cancer genes and the impact of genetic variants on cancer risk and progression. Melissa was previously Head of the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, and Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland. National scene The ACDS continues to raise the profile of university science with policy makers in Canberra. We look forward to working with the offices of the Minister for Education (Jason Clare) and the new Minister for Science (Tim Ayres). By now, you will also be aware of the Shadow Ministers for various portfolios of relevance to university science: Education (Jonathon Duniam), Science (Melissa Price), Industry & Innovation (Alex Hawke) and Environment (Angie Bell). We wish them well in their portfolios. The Executive Director of the ACDS, Tony Willis, coordinates our submissions and advocacy work. If you have any suggestions or issues that you would like to raise, please contact him at Tony.Willis@acds.edu.au. Activities to mark 30 years of the ACDS As most of you know, in 2025 we mark 30 years of the ACDS. We have been running a series of activities to mark this special occasion, including guest speakers at our AGM and other ACDS forums this year, gatherings of ACDS alumni in various locations and special issues of our ACDS magazine. Sydney afternoon tea, Monday 12 May 2025: An afternoon tea for NSW-based ACDS alumni was held at the University of Sydney in May. Around 15 people attended, including former Council Executive members Rob Norris, Tony Moon, and others. We were especially pleased to welcome John Rice, inaugural ACDS President and driving force behind the Council’s establishment, who shared reflections on its history. Brief remarks were also given by Immediate Past President Melissa Brown, current President Jacqui Ramagge, and Secretary/Treasurer Marcel Dinger. ACDS magazine Australian University Science: As you know, Issue 13 of the ACDS magazine was recently launched and we thank all our members for their support of this special issue to mark 30 years of the ACDS. (You can read and download the magazine here. If you would like to receive the magazine directly to your inbox please sign up here. Issue #13 was our inaugural digital-only edition and we have engaged a digital marketing company, gemaker, to help promote targeted stories to different (external) audiences. The next issue of the magazine is currently being planned, with a focus on what university science might look like in the future. Adelaide alumni gathering, Wednesday 2 July: This will take the form of a lunch in conjunction with the annual Learning and Teaching forum (organised by Susan Howitt and Ingo Koeper). We are looking forward to meeting alumni and friends of the ACDS. ACDS Annual Conference – October 2025 Planning is well underway for this year’s ACDS Annual Conference, to be held in Canberra on 21–22 October. Please save the dates — an exciting program is taking shape, with speakers from the Productivity Commission, TEQSA, and more. This year’s conference dinner will be a gala event to celebrate our 30th anniversary. To make it truly special — and to help offset costs — we’re exploring sponsorship opportunities. We welcome your suggestions of suppliers or organisations we could approach about their possible interest in supporting the event. Please email Executive Director Tony Willis at Tony.Willis@acds.edu.au with your recommendations. Preparing the 2026-2030 ACDS Strategic Plan Development of the next ACDS Strategic Plan is well underway, and your insights, suggestions, and perspectives will be crucial in shaping it. We strongly encourage all member Deans and their Associate Deans (or equivalents) to complete the survey that we anticipate circulating later this week — your input will directly inform the initial drafts of the new strategy. There will also be further opportunities to provide feedback on drafts later in the year. ACDS dates for 2025 1-2 July, T&L Leaders Forum, Flinders University 2-3 September, Research Network Forum, UTAS 30 September-2 October, ACSME, University of Melbourne 21-22 October, ACDS Annual Conference, Canberra Director of the ACDS Teaching and Learning Centre After four years as the Director of the ACDS Centre for Teaching and Learning, Susan Howitt has recently let us know that she wishes to step down at the end of this year. We thank Susan for her initiative and leadership, particularly in helping to develop resources and guidance around areas such as AI and First Nations knowledge, and in the development of the ACDS teaching grants and fellowships. We will be looking for a replacement for Susan later this year, but in the first instance if you know of anyone who might be interested in this position please pass their name on to Tony.Willis@acds.edu.au, or ask them to contact Tony directly. Opinion – Why I choose to be a Dean of Science Moira O’Bryan (Dean of Science at the University of Melbourne) has recently written a good summary of what drives her as a Dean of Science. Read her article here – I am sure this will resonate with many of you!
