Issue 31 - 6 September 2000

New head of school for Malaysia

Strategic development consultant and academic Dr Ron Davison has been appointed the next head of the School of Business and Information Technology at Monash Malaysia.

Commencing in October, Dr Davison will spend the first few weeks at the Malaysian and Australian campuses of Monash before formally taking up the position of head of school at the end of November.

He will take over from Professor Robin Pollard, who has been head of school since Monash opened the Malaysia campus in July 1998.

Professor Pollard will stay on at Monash Malaysia until the end of the year, to assist with the transition to the new head of school.

On his return to Australia, he will transfer from the Faculty of Business and Economics to the Faculty of Information Technology and will join the School of Business Systems.

Announcing the new head of school, pro vice-chancellor of the Malaysia campus Professor Bob Bignall said he was delighted that Dr Davison had agreed to join Monash.

"He has a very strong commitment to education in Asia and extensive experience in projects throughout the region," he said.

Dr Davison was previously head of the Graduate School of Engineering at RMIT and project director for RMIT's proposed Vietnam campus development.

His work has included projects in Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, China, India and Indonesia.

Dr Davison holds a PhD in management from Macquarie University, a Master of Engineering Science in Industrial Engineering and Management Science from the University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Physics from Brigham Young University in Hawaii.

He is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and the Institution of Engineers (Australia), and a fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Science.

In addition to his work at RMIT, Dr Davison has held senior academic appointments at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and at the University of Western Sydney.

His research interests include management and decision science, engineering management, productivity, business performance and technology strategy. He has supervised more than 20 research students, mostly at PhD level.

Speaking about the move to Monash, Dr Davison said he was very much looking forward to working at the Malaysia campus.

"Through my previous work in Asia I know that Monash is expanding rapidly and is very well regarded in the region," he said.

"Monash Malaysia has an opportunity to stimulate the quality and relevance of university education throughout Asia by providing a model of first-class courses appropriate to modern industry and business.

"These programs combined with research and development collaborations can add real value to the region."

$100,000 prize for self-portrait

Monash painting lecturer Kristin Headlam has won the $100,000 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize - the richest art prize in Australia.

The painting, 'In Bed with the Animals', depicting the artist in bed with her dog, Dora Pamphlet, and her cats, Hercules and Oskar, is a departure from her usual style and subject of painting.

"Most of what I paint is very shadowy and dark. I wanted to paint something without shadows, and to find a different way of approaching a self-portrait," she said.

Rejecting the common "self-obsessed" method of staring at oneself in a mirror, Ms Headlam settled on a more relaxed pose in bed with her pets, and painted from a combination of photographs and drawings.

She stressed the importance of patronage for the arts, saying the support of people such as the Morans for artists was crucial.

Ms Headlam, who is now working towards a show of watercolours at the end of year, said she would like to use her prize to visit some European galleries.

Ms Kristin Headlam in the studio with her prize-winning painting 'In Bed with the Animals'.

Staff travelling fellowships Monash general staff are invited to apply for the 2000 Caroline Chisholm and R. L. Martin travelling fellowships. The fellowships provide excellent professional development opportunities and are open to general staff as follows: Caroline Chisholm fellowship available to staff up to and including HEW level 7. R. L. Martin fellowship available to staff at HEW level 8 and above. Successful applicants will undertake an identified program of professional development relevant to their position, which could include one of, or a combination of, the following: attendance at a specific training course or workshop either in Australia or overseas; attendance at a specific course in Australia or overseas accompanied by work experience at one or several universities; a program of visits to a number of universities, colleges or private and government organisations within Australia or overseas; for 2001, additional funding for domestic and international travel, where appropriate, will be made available from the Vice-Chancellor's Qantas Promotional Fund. Funding is available for use on Qantas routes, flown by Qantas carriers only. Four fellowships will be awarded this year, and will consist of paid time off work and reimbursement of expenses such as travel costs, accommodation, and conference attendance to a maximum of $6000. Submissions close on Friday 6 October and should include a written proposal clearly addressing the selection criteria. For detailed information on eligibility, selection criteria and application procedures, intending applicants should first check www.monash.edu.au/personnel/sdu/awards/index3.htm For further inquiries, contact Mrs Trish Morris on extn 56876.

 

Bayside landscapes Monash staff member Ms Kay Boyle is artist of the month at Borders Café in South Yarra. Ms Boyle, managing editor of Bioethics in the School of Philosophy, Linguistics and Bioethics, will display nine of her oil paintings on the theme of Bayside Melbourne during September. The exhibition features landscapes painted in areas such as Westgate Park, Sandringham and Ricketts Point. Ms Kay Boyle with her painting 'Westgate Park'.

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