Melbourne University fellowship will ensure Professor Allison Milner’s work will continue
The legacy of the university professor who was killed in a freak incident in August will continue, with a new fellowship set up in her name.
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The family of a university professor killed when she was crushed by a tree are comforted her important work will continue.
Melbourne University Associate Professor Allison Milner died in August when a 106-year-old elm tree fell on her in Parkville while she was walking through Princes Park in Melbourne’s inner north to work.
Despite frantic efforts to save her, at the scene and at Royal Melbourne Hospital, she couldn’t be saved.
The 36-year-old mother of two young boys was an expert in suicide prevention — and the university has started a fellowship to honour her and make sure her crucial work continues.
The university has established the Allison Milner Early Career Research Fellowship to fund an early career researcher who they hope will carry on her commitment to social justice, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Hundreds of family, friends and University colleagues, including Vice-Chancellor Professor Duncan Maskell, attended a memorial service at the university yesterday two months after the tragedy.
He remembered her as a “brilliant researcher, a generous colleague, and a loving mum”.
The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Health) Professor Shitij Kapur said she was an extraordinary academic with an amazing intellect, wonderful generosity and natural leadership abilities.
“Despite her relatively short academic career, Allison has left a formidable legacy and we want to ensure her outstanding work and memory lives on”.
A statement from her family said she was proud of her work and her colleagues.
“We’re happy that Allison will be recognised in this way and that she will be able to help early career researchers in some way going forward. Allison was such a passionate advocate for supporting others in the highly competitive world of academia.
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“Grant funding is an overwhelming aspect of research and anything that can support people to navigate that world and focus on good research and good writing was something she would have championed.”
Professor Milner was committed to workplace mental health promotion founded a program of work that investigated how the gendered nature of occupations and workplaces affected the health of men and women. Her research into workplace mental health and suicide prevention especially in high risk occupations was illustrated her belief that public health research should directly improve the lives of others.
A mass audit of more than 400 elm trees was carried out after her death. The reason fro the tee falling onto Professor milner will be revealed after a coronial inquiry.
Melbourne City Council examined the tree on July 12 and considered it safe.