Awards Magazine 2017

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The Community Leader Awards
2015
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What do you do in your community?
In my community, I’m chancellor of among
other things. The chancellor is effectively, in a private sector sense,
the chair of the board. I chair the council which is a representative
council so it has members from various parts of the community and
students, and my task is to represent the university in as many fo-
rums as I can.
How did you get started in your role?
I got talked into going onto the council of the university many years
ago, nearly 20 years ago now. I’ve been on council quite a long time.
I was deputy for 15 years. I took over as chancellor two-and-a-half
years ago.
What do you love about your role?
It’s looking at young people, passing across the stage, graduating
from university knowing that we’ve done something to create a ca-
reer path for them, to create their employability – also to instil some
of the values that Griffith has. Griffith is a university that is a strong
believer in social responsibility and that’s been an essential part of
our culture for many years. So if we can turn students out who are
not only re-skilled but also very aware of the needs of the communi-
ty, and their role in community, and giving back to the community,
that’s very important for us.
Why is the Catholic faith important to you?
The Catholic faith gives people a framework and a sense of where we
ought to be going. You just live by it. It’s just part and parcel of what
we do every day. And it’s there. Sometimes it rises to the surface in
different ways, but it always underpins all the actions, and all the
values that I have, have been instilled by the Catholic faith.
How does your faith help you in your role?
I talked about social responsibility. The Catholic faith has taught
me, my parents have taught me, that giving back to that communi-
ty, having those views that instil in others the sense of community
pride, that’s what the faith does. I look at what I do at graduations
and the students that come through and I think they’ve walked away,
unbeknownst to them, the subtleties of the Catholic faith.
What was your reaction when you heard you
were a finalist for The Leaders?
If I was very honest I’d say, “not for me”. Many other people I think
probably deserve the award far more than I do, and that’s quite a
genuine feeling. I guess if someone nominates you for something
like this, you’ve got to respect the fact that someone thinks highly of
you and you owe it to them to give it your best shot. So here I am, I
probably didn’t really want to be here. But having been nominated
I’m obviously quite chuffed that someone has thought so highly of
what I do and nominated me.
Henry Smerdon:
But having been
nominated I’m
obviously quite
chuffed that someone
has thought so highly
of what I do and
nominated me.
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