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Mick Dodson is professor of law at the ANU and director of the University's National Centre for Indigenous Studies. He is also director
of legal and anthropological consultants Dodson,
Bauman & Associates Pty Ltd.
Professor Dodson was named Australian of the Year 2009 in recognition of his lifetime commitment to improving the lives of Aboriginal people and promoting understanding between all Australians.
Professor Dodson is a member of the Yawuru people of the
southern Kimberley, Western Australia, and was Australia's first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
In addition to his qualifications from Monash University, Professor Dodson was awarded a Doctor of Letters from the University of Technology Sydney and holds an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of New South Wales. Professor Dodson worked with the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service before becoming a barrister in 1981. He joined the Northern Land Council as senior legal adviser in 1984 and became director in 1990.
Professor Dodson is a prominent advocate on land rights and other issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and has worked for the rights and interests of indigenous people worldwide through various roles with the United Nations. He is currently a member (Pacific) and rapporteur of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. He is also co-chair of Reconciliation Australia, a founding director of the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre, and a member and current chairman of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.
In 1998, Monash University presented Professor Dodson with a Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2003, he became a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the indigenous community and as a campaigner for native title rights. |
