Curtin University awards honorary doctorate to Julia Gillard

Curtin University has awarded an honorary doctorate of letters to Julia Gillard.

Curtin University vice chancellor Deborah Terry and former prime minister Julia Gillard at the ceremony.

In today’s Higher Ed Daily Brief: Honour for former PM, reversing the brain drain

Doctorate for Gillard

Any university planning to give an honorary doctorate to a former prime minister currently has many to choose from. Curtin University yesterday conferred one on Julia Gillard — an

honorary doctorate of letters “in recognition of her outstanding contribution to education and social inclusion as well as her distinguished career in political leadership, spanning almost two decades”.

Curtin vice-chancellor Deborah Terry said Ms Gillard’s influence on public life had been exceptional and her role in education reform was “arguably been her greatest contribution to

Australian society”.

Returning talent

The Australian National University has lured medical researcher Russell Gruen back to Australia to head its College of Health and Medicine. Professor Gruen used to be the professor of surgery and public health at Monash University, as well as director of Australia’s National Trauma Research Institute and a trauma surgeon at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. Since 2015 he’s been in Singapore as executive director of the Nanyang Technological University’s Institute for Health Technologies as well as vice dean of research in NTU’s joint medical school with Imperial College London.

Once back in Canberra, where he starts in January, he will also work part-time as a general surgeon at Canberra Hospital.