Dean to become vice-chancellor of Southern Cross Monash pro vice-chancellor and dean of Business and Economics Professor John Rickard will succeed Professor Barry Conyngham as the second vice-chancellor of Southern Cross University in northern New South Wales. Invited by Southern Cross to take up the position in March next year, Professor Rickard sees the appointment as "an enormously exciting opportunity". "Southern Cross is a small, new, regional university which has already developed a niche in several areas that suit its community, such as tourism, hospitality and naturopathy," he said. "We will need to build on that competitive advantage in a way that is sustainable, so that Southern Cross is clearly an innovative, imaginative and quality university identifying with similar institutions around the globe." Currently dean of a faculty at Monash which is larger than the whole of Southern Cross University, Professor Rickard has a strong record of leading change and developing new enterprises. Prior to coming to Monash, he was professor of Management, director of the Graduate School of Management and director of the Centre for Management Services at Deakin University. He was also foundation managing director of Deakin Australia. At Monash over the past five years Professor Rickard has led the Faculty of Business and Economics into a new era. His work is not yet done, he says, as he plans to complete the current review of the faculty's undergraduate programs before he leaves. He sees this as important work in laying the foundation for the future. Congratulating Professor Rickard on his appointment to Southern Cross University, vice-chancellor Professor David Robinson acknowledged Professor Rickard's significant contribution to Monash. "As dean, John has not shirked the difficult issues in creating a faculty across several campuses which has a strong focus on performance," he said. "We look forward to him completing several key tasks as dean over the next five months, and all wish him well at Southern Cross."

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Industry links for safety

Staff from the Hospital Pharmaceuticals division of F. H. Faulding & Co Ltd met with Faculty of Science safety officers at Monash last week to exchange ideas on important safety issues.

This was a reciprocal visit after safety personnel from the Science faculty had visited Faulding's Mulgrave site last November to view laboratories and discuss common aspects of safety policy.

According to Science faculty safety officer Dr Meg Ralph, who organised the visit, the opportunity to interchange views with industry on the management of health and safety has revitalised staff trying to find successful approaches to safety issues within faculty departments.

"Safety personnel from both organisations have found that the interaction has assisted in developing strategies for managing health and safety," she said.

During the recent visit of safety personnel from Faulding are, from left, Monash OH&S Policy Committee chair Professor Mike Brisk, Science faculty safety officer Dr Meg Ralph, OH&S coordinator at Faulding Ms Kim Bishop and Science dean Professor Ron Davies.

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Parking on Monash Open Day Staff and students attending Monash Open Day at Caulfield campus next Sunday are advised to park in the Victorian Amateur Turf Club (VATC) Guineas carpark. Parking in the VATC carpark is free and will also help those visiting the campus avoid the congestion anticipated in Princess Avenue. There will be no parking available within the grounds at Caulfield, including Queens Avenue and the internal courtyard, but any students, staff and visitors with disabilities who have a blue council-issued permit will be given access at the Gatehouse. There are no parking restrictions at the other campuses. Monash Open Day will be held at the Gippsland, Parkville and Peninsula campuses on Saturday 7 August and at the Berwick, Caulfield and Clayton campuses on Sunday 8 August from 10 am to 4 pm. The Monash Open Day program and campus maps are available at www.monash.edu.au/monashday

Virtual Open Day Students unable to attend Monash Open Day will be able to get a taste of uni life through Virtual Open Day on the Peninsula campus. On Saturday 7 August from 10 am, people with access to the Internet will be able to get the same real-time information as those visiting the campus. Uni staff will be available on the day to 'chat' to prospective students over the Internet about course options. Students who would like to access Virtual Open Day should visit http://neptune.pscit.monash.edu.au/virtual and follow the prompts to download the necessary software. Students are advised to access the site at least one day prior so that proper set up is achieved. For any difficulties accessing the site, contact extn 44341.

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Voicemail arrives at Monash

A new voicemail service will soon provide a simple, easy-to-use and consistent telephone answering system across the university.

Following successful trials in selected areas of Monash, the staged release of the service to all staff will be managed by Information Technology Services and Works and Services Branch.

The voicemail service can be accessed from anywhere in the world as well as from within the university. It will provide telephone message answering, message notification and call forwarding services.

Staff will be notified of the release dates for their locations and may apply for connection to the voicemail service. The preliminary schedule is as follows:

Telephone service rental charges cover the cost of the basic voicemail service for all telephone extension users. Future enhancements to the voicemail service will occur once the basic system is in place for all staff.

For further information about the voicemail facility, see http://www.its.monash.edu.au/

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Reality check

A new web-based Y2K awareness program has been launched by Information Technology Services (ITS) as part of the university's Y2K project.

Aimed primarily at staff and students with a computer at home, the web site explains the Y2K problem, offers advice, and provides software to check the computer.

According to ITS client services manager Ms Margo Hellyer, most new computers purchased in the last two years should be Y2K compliant, but older systems and software may be at risk of failure.

She said spreadsheets and databases and operating systems such as Windows were particularly at risk.

The Year 2000 Awareness site is located at www.adm.monash.edu.au/y2k/aware

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Mistaken identity The photograph accompanying the Gippsland Library story in last week's Monash Memo incorrectly named Monash deputy chancellor Dr Geoffrey Knights as Mr John Hutchinson, the chair of the Gippsland Advisory Council. Monash Memo apologises for the error.