Howard Arkley
Family Home -- suburban exterior 1993
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
203.0 x 254.0cm
Monash University Collection
© The Estate of Howard Arkley
Licensed by Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art
15 November 2006
15 November 2006
University staff have an opportunity to experience Monash from different locations and perspectives, thanks to a new staff mobility initiative.
The Monash Cross-Campus Staff Mobility program, headed by Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen Parker, was launched last month.
It was developed in response to staff mobility being identified as one of the university's annual priorities.
Professor Parker said the mobility program was being offered to enhance inter-campus movement between Monash's Australian, South African and Malaysian campuses.
A fund has been established to allow academic and general staff to work at other campuses on projects or activities that are beneficial to Monash.
Eligible items of expenditure include visas, support for relocation and accommodation, relevant insurances, and return airfares.
"The program will operate as a pilot for one year, from the beginning of 2007," Professor Parker said.
"Staff mobility projects and activities might range from a general staff member spending two weeks shadowing someone working in a similar role, to a semester-length visit by an academic staff member to teach a unit at another campus," he said.
An advisory group to the Monash Mobility Steering Group has been established to review applications. Professor Parker said the success of the program would be reviewed at the end of 2007 for possible continuation in 2008 and beyond.
Professor Rob Willis, Academic Director of Caulfield and Clayton, has been part of the development of the Monash Mobility Framework and will be responsible for oversight of the program from 1 March 2007.
Applications for the program must be lodged by 30 November, 2006. For further information visit the Monash Mobility Steering Group web page.
More details about the Monash Mobility Framework, the Cross-Campus Staff Mobility program (including selection criteria) and the application form are available from the Monash Mobility Framework web page.
15 November 2006
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Howard Arkley |
The Monash University Museum of Art has loaned two key paintings by iconic Australian artist Howard Arkley to the National Gallery of Victoria for a retrospective exhibition that runs from November until February 2007.
Max Delany, Director of MUMA, said the museum was delighted to loan the two paintings Family home -- Suburban exterior 1993, and Untitled (Arabesque head) 1990 to the gallery.
"Family home -- Suburban exterior is one of the most significant and iconic of Arkley's celebrated paintings of suburban houses," Mr Delany said.
"If his signature paintings of houses, factories, freeways and nightlife were valued for their psycho-sociological insights, they are equally compelling for their daring abstraction and graphic exploration, executed in a unique suburban-dream-like adrenalin rush."
MUMA presented the first major museum survey of the artist's work, curated by Jenepher Duncan, in 1991. The exhibition underscored the unique contribution that Arkley has made to Australia art, while equally attesting to his international significance.
Untitled (Ababesque head) 1990, from a breakthrough exhibition of totemic heads and masks, was donated to the Monash University Collection by Professor Graeme Smith in 1994.
"It is rare and wonderful when an artist actually achieves one of the utopian aspirations of modernist art - to change the way that we see the world in which we live," Mr Delany said.
"Howard Arkley's work succeeded in this, and continues to test the limits of our perception."
To coincide with the exhibition, Dr John Gregory from Monash University's Faculty of Art and Design will launch his book Carnival in Suburbia: The Art of Howard Arkley at the Ian Potter Centre, National Gallery of Victoria, on Thursday 16 November at 10am. (Published by Cambridge University Press)
15 November 2006
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South African campus librarian Ms Sarah Kibirige (far left) with the Monash Library's Information Systems Director Ms Janette Burke and the library's Executive Planning Officer Mr Roger Clark. |
February 2007 should see the completion of the new campus centre at Monash South Africa that will include a 200-seat bistro and Library and Learning Commons.
The Library and Learning Commons will provide multi-functional spaces with a group discussion area, more than 100 computer terminals, a training room, a reserve collection, casual and quiet seating and space for more than 70,000 volumes.
Ms Janette Burke, Director of the Monash Library's Information Systems Division, and Mr Roger Clark, Executive Planning Officer, visited the South Africa campus last month to review the library's services and select the furniture and fittings for the new library and learning commons.
The Library and Learning Commons will combine library and Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching resources with a contemporary, user-friendly learning and teaching environment.
Among the innovations that will be offered is a Self Loans checkout, giving users the ability to process their own loans.
An adaptive technology area will be available for users with disabilities, and two group discussion rooms will also be available. New modern furniture, a bright, open plan layout, and wireless access will be included in the new facility.
15 November 2006
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Christopher Durré viewed a projection of the transit of Mercury through his great-great-grandfather Sir John Monash's telescope last week. The viewing was organised by Monash University's School of Physics |
Sir John Monash's great-great-grandson Christopher Durré, 9, last week viewed a projection of Mercury transiting the Sun through his great-great-grandfather's 1920s telescope.
The viewing of the projections through a range of telescopes in the courtyard of the Hargrave-Andrew Library was organised by Monash University's School of Physics.
Physics lecturer Ms Susan Feteris said the transit of Mercury or Venus was a relatively rare event.
"No astronomer would miss it, and I was pleased to stage a public event so that Monash staff and students could share it," she said.
"It's never safe to look directly at the Sun, so since Galileo we've always used projection from a telescope onto a screen to observe the Sun."
The Sir John Monash telescope was donated to the university by Sir John's grand-daughter Mrs Elizabeth "Betty" Durré in 1985. It was last used by her son Mark - Christopher's father - in the late 1970s.
Mark's sister Caroline Durré, a member of academic staff in the Faculty of Art and Design, was also present at the viewing.
Other telescopes used included a 10-inch Meade with a full-size solar filter through which people directly viewed the Sun and Mercury.
"The Sir John Monash telescope probably won't come out to be used again until the next transit of Venus in 2012. I am terribly grateful to have been given permission to use it,'' Ms Feteris said.
"I hope that if it's used occasionally for special events, its value to the Monash University community will be enhanced -- it will be more of a 'living' instrument, rather than just a beautiful museum piece."
15 November 2006
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Professor Arthur Christopoulos has been selected as the 2007 ASCEPT Visitor to the British Pharmacological Society.. |
Professor Arthur Christopoulos, of Monash University's Department of Pharmacology, has been selected by the Council of the Australian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists (ASCEPT) as the 2007 ASCEPT Visitor to the British Pharmacological Society.
Professor Christopoulos said he was truly honoured and delighted to be given an award that recognises outstanding achievements in his field.
The prize, inaugurated in 1989, is awarded every two years to an eminent pharmacologist and member of ASCEPT in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the society and the discipline.
"To be recognised in this manner by the leading society representing our discipline in Australia means a lot to me," Professor Christopoulos said.
"Previous recipients of this award include some of this country's most outstanding pharmacology leaders. I am proud to have been able to contribute to the society."
The award entails the delivery of a plenary lecture at the Life Sciences 2007 meeting in Glasgow next year. It also involves British Pharmacological Society-hosted visits to a number of pharmacology research centres throughout the United Kingdom.
Professor Christopoulos was a councillor of ASCEPT 2003 -- 2004, and was Chair of the ASCEPT Scientific Advisory Committee during 2004 -- 2005.
Professor Christopoulos and his collaborator Professor Patrick Sexton recently joined Monash University as directors of the new Drug Discovery Biology Laboratory.
Their research focuses on a superfamily of proteins know as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which represent the most prominent class of drug targets.
Their team is particularly interested in exploring new ways to target drugs to GPCRs in an effort to achieve greater selectivity of drug action.
The research has generated significant interest within the pharmaceutical industry, including current collaborations with GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Eli Lilly.
15 November 2006
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Mr Ravi Ravitharan has been chosen to head the Railway Technical Society of Australasia. |
Mr Ravi Ravitharan, one of the leaders of the Rail Research Group within Mechanical Engineering, has been chosen to head the Railway Technical Society of Australasia.
Mr Ravitharan is the first Monash staff member, and first Victorian, to be appointed as Executive Chairman of the society -- a position he will hold until September 2008.
"I am very proud to represent my university and my state on such an important body," said Mr Ravitharan, who is also Business Manager of the Institute of Railway Technology.
The Railway Technical Society of Australasia is the fourth-largest technical society within the engineering fraternity in Australasia. It works closely with the railway industry to promote the science and practice of railway engineering and related technology.
Earlier this year, the society hosted the Conference on Railway Engineering in Melbourne. The theme of the conference, which attracted more than 650 delegates from around the world, was Rail Achieving Growth.
15 November 2006
Through a new agreement with the medical school of Hashemite University in Amman, Jordan, the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences has once again extended its work in the Middle East.
Dr Nizar Farjou, Senior Lecturer in the faculty's International Education Unit, said an agreement between Monash University and Hashemite University would allow students from Jordan to study medicine at Monash.
Dr Farjou said the first students to undertake medical studies at Monash would be six PhD candidates and two students on clinical fellowships.
Hashemite University commenced operation at the onset of the 1995/96 academic year and now has 18,000 students in 10 faculties including medicine and nursing. Jordan has 21 universities with 150,000 students.
"The country has a number of new medical schools and the upgrading of curriculum is occurring in the established ones," Dr Farjou said.
Other discussions are underway with contacts in Saudi Arabia and Qatar in regard to curriculum development, exchanges and other projects to advance public health training.
15 November 2006
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Dr Julia Harrison, Dr Brendan Flanagan, Mr Marcus Robertson, Ms Emily Smith, Mr Charles Milne and Mr Sina Babazadeh are some of the people who will be involved in this week's MBBS Back to Base Week |
Monash medical students enrolled in the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) have come "Back to Base" this week as part of the final stage of their course.
For the past three years students involved in the course have been immersed in clinical placements across Victoria, interstate and overseas.
Dr Julia Harrison, a senior lecturer in the Department of Medicine at the Southern Clinical School, said Back to Base Week -- which runs from November 13 to 17 -- was a vital part of the MBBS course.
"The main purpose of Back to Base Week is to bring all the students together at the conclusion of the course for some closure, consolidation, celebration, farewells, and final important messages before they embark on their medical careers," Ms Harrision said.
"There will be about 170 students participating, and faculty from the MBBS course, numerous guest speakers and future colleagues will all have opportunities to speak to them."
Themes of the week include: transition -- from medical student to doctor; consolidation of key clinical principles; inspiration, motivation and encouragement for future career opportunities; as well as a celebration and farewell -- many of the international MBBS students will be returning home.
As well as a range of guest speakers, staff from Monash teaching hospitals will give talks on aspects of clinical care, medico-legal issues, and transition -- how to be an effective intern and still manage to maintain a healthy life- balance.
Dr Andrew Foote, a recent Monash graduate, will be conducting sessions on common ward calls for interns, which address the range of tasks interns will face next year.
"This is the first cohort of students to graduate from the new Monash MBBS curriculum and as such, having 'Back to Base Week' fits neatly with the aims and structure of the new curriculum," Dr Harrison said.
"Back to Base Week will be an annual event. Next year we hope to have some of this year's current students to assist with the transition as they will be the new experts."
15 November 2006
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International student Ms Sandra Guzman has been partnered with housing advisor Ms Robyn Lethlean through the university's International Student Friendship Program. |
A program helping international students adapt to Australian life has received an overwhelming response from the Monash community.
Since the launch of the International Student Friendship Program (ISFP) in August, more than 100 Monash community, university staff, alumni members and international students have signed up.
Ms Sandra Guzman, a fourth year Communications student from Mexico, is participating in the program which she discovered by accident during Orientation Week.
"There were two lines, one for a language exchange program and the other for the International Student Friendship Program. I followed my friend and joined the wrong queue by mistake," she said.
Ms Guzman soon found that the ISFP offered a chance not only to share language skills, but also to make new friends and experience Australian life from the perspective of a local.
Ms Guzman was matched with Ms Robyn Lethlean, who is a housing advisor with Monash University Community Services. Having worked and lived with international students, Ms Lethlean understood the need for programs to ease the strain of living in another country for students.
"I’ve always worked in community development and I’ve met a lot of international students who feel isolated when they first get here," Ms Lethlean said. "The program was the perfect opportunity for me to help international students and experience cultural exchange. Plus, the coordinators made a good match with me and Sandra."
The program, started by Monash University Community Services, aims to enhance the international student experience and help them to experience life in Australia through everyday activities.
"We're looking for volunteers who want to share an insight into Australian community and the Australian 'way of life' with an international student," said ISFP Project Manager, Ms Jennifer Weber.
"What we need is their enthusiasm and willingness to build cross-cultural friendships through regular activities. Whether through their family or community networks, there is opportunity for mutual cultural sharing."
To sign up or for more information, contact Renee De Simone at renee.simone@adm.monash.edu.au or phone +61 3 9905 3156 or visit the ISFP website.
15 November 2006
Monash Sport staff member Ms Briony Schofield will be heading to Italy in January for the World University Winter Games.
Ms Schofield will assist the chef de mission and team manager for the Australian team in her role as administration manager.
The 2007 Universiade is being held in Torino from 16-28 January, with Bardonecchia and Pragelato as satellite venues.
The Australian team comprises 14 athletes - who will be competing in alpine skiing, cross country, snowboarding and figure skating - as well as officials, coaches and medical support.
"It will be a great experience in supporting the athletes so they can perform at their best," Ms Schofield said.
"I'll be able to bring extra skills home with me for managing athletes in Australia."
For more details on the Australian team competing in the World University Winter Games visit the Australian University Sport website.
15 November 2006
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Blairgowrie Estate, Sorrento. Grand seaside subdivisional sale, Easter Saturday and Monday, March 31st and April 2nd, [1926](Melbourne: Arthur Tuckett and Son, [1926]) |
A deck of US-issued 'most wanted' playing cards featuring Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi high command, a householders handbook for nuclear warfare, protest posters and dance cards are some of the rare collectables featured in a new exhibition at the Sir Louis Matheson Library at Monash University's Clayton campus.
Ephemera,on show until 28 February 2007, comprises more than 100 rare materials ranging from the 17th century to the present, from the Monash University Library Rare Books Collection.
The exhibition, curated by Monash Rare Books librarian Mr Richard Overell, is drawn from the library's extensive collection of 'ephemera' - printed material that is used in everyday life and then usually disposed of.
Among the items on display are early greeting cards including Christmas cards and 19th century Valentines, old airline tickets, Japanese occupation money - printed by Japan during WWII for use in countries occupied by their advancing forces - the first Moomba Festival program (1955), a selection of dance cards (with pencils attached), pharmacy product labels, shipping tickets and menus, and a set of Weed playing cards from Nimbin, NSW, that 'explore the fine art of growing pot plants'.
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Advertising brochure for AWA Colour Television (1975). |
Mr Overell said the collection, which he began at Monash in the early 1990s, helped support research by social historians who require documentation of the most immediate kind to assist their study of the texture ofcontemporary life.
"Fragments of the past, even of the recent past, can be critical in passing on to future generations the flavour of our lives," Mr Overell said.
"To understand the significance of ephemera, we can compare it to the popular forensic shows on television. Ephemera is all the clues left behind which tell the investigator what has happened. The bits and pieces are overlooked and forgotten until picked up by someone who can interpret them and use them to help reconstruct events.
"Most curators and institutions have overlooked this field of collecting, but the situation has changed rapidly over the past 20 or 30 years," Mr Overell said. "These days, ephemera is eagerly sought after with ephemera societies and ephemera fairs in most large centres in Australia."
Ephemera can be viewed during library opening hours. For a virtual tour, visit the exhibition website.
Exhibition notes:
What: Ephemera exhibition, Monash University Library Rare Books Collection
When: Until 28 February. Viewing hours: Monday to Friday 9am-5pm. Saturday and Sunday 1pm--5pm
Where: Exhibition Room, Sir Louis Matheson Library, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton.