The incoming Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland (UQ), Deborah Terry (pictured), is returning to the State after more than six years as Vice-Chancellor and President of Curtin University in Western Australia.
Professor Terry worked at UQ for 24 years, rising to Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, before taking the Curtin appointment in 2014.
She said UQ was an incredibly strong university, and she was delighted to be back at a time when educating graduates, engaging in research and enriching communities were more important than ever.
“Queensland will need new ideas, new skills and new jobs to power its economic and social recovery and UQ will be at the forefront of this,” Professor Terry said.
“At this time of great disruption, I am convinced that universities will be critical to the road to recovery, and this is no more evident than in UQ’s extraordinary progress in developing a COVID-19 vaccine.”
While yet to officially start work, Professor Terry visited the St Lucia Campus to meet staff and students hosting UQ’s first virtual Open Day.
About 10,000 people registered in advance for Open Day activities, which included 13 virtual tours, ‘on-air’ events and more than 45 hours of on-demand video content for participants.
Chancellor of UQ, Peter Varghese said he was delighted to have secured Professor Terry as Vice-Chancellor.
“Her deep knowledge of the higher education sector and her proven track record as a leader gives me great confidence that she will continue to build on UQ’s many achievements under the leadership of [outgoing Vice-Chancellor] Peter Høj,” Mr Varghese said.
