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Monash community to farewell Professor Gary Bouma

12 December 2007

Professor Gary Bouma is due to retire at the end of this year.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Edwina Cornish will host an event, attended by Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins and other members of the Monash community at the Monash Club on 14 December, to farewell Professor Gary Bouma on his retirement and pay tribute to his illustrious career as one of the University's leading contributors.

Professor Bouma, a Professor of Sociology within the Arts Faculty's School of Political and Social Inquiry, has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to research at Monash and the wider community over the past 28 years.

Notably, in 2005 Professor Bouma was appointed as the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations -- Asia Pacific, a role that facilitated the academic study of intercultural and inter-religious relations in the Asia Pacific region with a view to influencing social policy.

In a statement before the farewell celebration Professor Cornish paid tribute to Professor Bouma's lengthy, ongoing and major contribution to so many areas of the University.

"On behalf of the Monash University community I wish to thank Gary for the tremendous contribution he has made to the University during his time with us," Professor Cornish said.

"Gary has been a strong leader within Monash and has made an outstanding contribution to the University and wider society in general over a long period of time.

"Such pivotal leadership roles included his time as Associate Dean between 2000 and 2002, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) from 2002 and 2004, and for the past 21 years as the Chair of the University's Standing Committee on Ethics in Research involving Humans."

During his career, Professor Bouma has won numerous awards including the Australian Intercultural Society's (AIS) Peace Award for Inter-faith Relations, and wrote and contributed to numerous publications in the areas of sociology, religion and research.

"Gary's career is a testament to the quality and impact of research that exists at Monash University," Professor Cornish said.

"It will be difficult to farewell such an active Monash personality. We congratulate him for his major contribution to so many areas of the University and general community and wish him all the very best in his retirement."