Q-Tropics, Tropical Health Alliance, President-elect Obama – and Change

Dear Colleagues,

Some terrific news last week from the Queensland Government. In a major announcement, the Premier and Minister Boyle launched the Government’s multi-million dollar Q-Tropics strategy. This is a visionary initiative, promising the development of an important new export industry for northern Queensland as well as moral and intellectual leadership on the issues of the tropical world. This leadership is sorely needed. As the developed country with the largest tropical landmass, it is appropriate that Australia plays a role. And this Queensland Government initiative means our State is stepping up to this leadership task.

As the Minister put it, James Cook University is “centre-stage” in the Q-Tropics strategy. The Government’s tropical expertise strategic initiatives will be hubbed out of James Cook University with the strategy bringing to bear the considerable strength in issues of significance to the tropical world from other universities and institutions.

As part of this strategy, $19.45 million goes to fund the Queensland Tropical Health Alliance. The Alliance is led by JCU and involves other leading players in tropical health and medicine: the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Griffith University (through its leading Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies) and QUT (involving aspects of their work on the biofortification of bananas). $12 million of the total comes to JCU to fund essential research infrastructure in Cairns and Townsville. While many people have been involved in the proposal from across the partner institutions, special acknowledgment for this success is due to JCU's Professor David Yellowlees, whose hard work and sheer persistence with what always was a good proposal has ultimately achieved well deserved success. The Queensland Government is also to be commended for their leadership and recognition of the potential of the issue, in line with the State’s invigorating Q2 strategy. As in all these things – the hard work begins now.

Writing of beginnings, the result in favour of President-elect Obama on a platform of change has been amazing to watch. As someone who lived in the US South for a few years, the enormity of the social change effected with the election of the first African American as President of the United States is nothing short of stunning. We all have our own views on US party politics, our preferred candidate, the position and influence of the US over the past several years. But, from where I stand, the overwhelming voter turn out, the determination to achieve generational change – and a change that at once embraces a candidate on his merits while rejecting the limited, historic social status of a significant minority of American citizens, engenders hope, even pride, in the possibility for change at a societal level in America, but here too, and the world over.

Of course, our own university also exists in this context of significant change – not only change in our own polity with the Federal election last year, local government changes this year and a State election to come, but also in economy and society, not the least of which focuses on recognition for Indigenous Australians. There are good things happening, though these are turbulent times and we are not immune to – nor should we fail to participate actively in – the changes to come. Some of these changes will have, are having, challenging impacts for us at an institutional level. But, you know, the way I see it is that these days change is the norm, and stability the aberration. We must respond effectively to, rather than try to stave off, change. This requires effort and a willingness from us all to make the tough as well as the easier decisions when they need to be made, always doing so in good faith, with the interests of the University, our own community and our broader communities in mind.

Cheers,
Sandra

PS: When I began this blog in January, I said that I planned to use it to keep you up to date with particular issues the University is facing - and simply to fill you in about what's happening and what's new from my perspective.

As I said then I am very happy for the JCU community to feel free to add your views and perspectives on the issues I have raised, or you can always email me directly at sandra.harding@jcu.edu.au if you'd rather do that.

While the comments that have been posted on this have been very interesting – if that is the right word – few if any of them relate back to what I originally posted.

However the length of the discussion has shown that there is a need for an open forum where people can express their thoughts so we will create a new site where you will be free to do that - keeping in mind the laws of defamation, privacy, and our own Code of Conduct. To begin the site we will transfer all the present discussion across to the new forum.

An advantage of the new site will be that it will allow anyone to begin a new discussion, and different threads can be followed. We will email the details as soon as it is established next week.

In the future when it is felt any comments on my blog are heading off on a different track and are more appropriate for the discussion site we will post them across.