Alumni Speaker Series 2012 - 'Masters of the Universe?'

The AFL has taken a leadership position on the behaviour of young sportsmen. They’ve also tackled the role of women in AFL, Indigenous representation, and binge drinking. So... job done. The AFL has done everything they can do about social issues. Or have they?

And is the AFL doing enough about the new questions that pop up each day – drugs, betting, speeding, sponsorship, social media, and the representation of sexual diversity...?

Welcome to 'Masters of the Universe?' - our first Alumni Speaker Series event for 2012. Register now!

Our moderator

Mr Russel Howcroft (BBus(Mktg) 1988)

Russel is an Australian business man and media personality best known as a panelist on the ABC’s ‘The Gruen Transfer’, and occasional 3AW host. He is the CEO of advertising business Y&R Group Aust/NZ. Russel is also on the board of the Melbourne Football Club.

Our panel

Mr Alastair Clarkson (MBA 1998)

Alastair is a former AFL footballer and the current senior coach of the Hawthorn Football Club. He played for North Melbourne and Melbourne football clubs for 11 years before making the move to coaching.

He moved through the ranks of the VFL and specialist AFL coaching positions before taking on the senior coaching position at Hawthorn in 2005. Since then he has made concerted effort to instil discipline and systems into the club; he led them to a premiership in 2008. A qualified teacher, Alastair also has university degrees in sports science and business.

Mr Brendon Gale (MA 1996, LLB 2003)

Brendon has been the CEO of Richmond Football Club since 2009. He is the former CEO of the AFL Players’ Association (AFLPA), the representative body for all current and retired professional players. Prior to joining the ALFPA, Brendon worked as a solicitor at a Melbourne commercial law firm.  He is on the Board of the Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Brendon played AFL for 11 years as a centre-half forward and ruckman for Richmond.

The Reverend Father Robert (Bob) Maguire AM RFD

Father Bob is a media personality, community worker and passionate Collingwood supporter. He has been a Catholic priest since 1960 and was parish priest of South Melbourne from 1973 to early 2012.  During the Vietnam War he was in charge of the Defence Force character training team. 

He has dedicated his life to helping the less fortunate. He co-founded Open Family in 1978 and in 2003 founded The Fr Bob Maguire Foundation, which raise funds to aid the underprivileged and homeless. He co-hosts John Safran’s weekly show on Triple J: ‘Sunday Night Safran’. He was named a member of the Order of Australia in 1989.  In 2011, he was Victorian of the Year and he became an Honorary Fellow of Monash University.

Dr Angela Williams (MBBS 1996, GradDipForensMed 2002, MForensMed 2004, GradDipLaw 2006)

Angela works as a Forensic Physician for the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the Department of Forensic Medicine at Monash University. Her professional interests are centred on sexual assault, injury interpretation, child abuse and forensic medical education and she regularly presents education programs to doctors, police, lawyers, public groups and students.

In 2005 she began working with the AFL to develop a Respect and Responsibility Policy. She went on to deliver a program to players and clubs that aimed to create awareness and culture change regarding attitudes to women.

‘Masters of the Universe?’ is one of the events in the Monash University Alumni Speaker Series. This series aims to showcase Monash expertise and challenge audiences on global issues. The events are designed to inform, entertain and inspire Monash alumni with thought-provoking lectures, forums and panel presentations.