Excellence awarded

Congratulations to all the staff and students who were nominated or received awards at the 2014 University Awards ceremony held on Parramatta campus, Tuesday 9 December.

The University Awards showcase some of the outstanding work undertaken at UWS in teaching, postgraduate research and supervision, professional service, engagement, sustainability and leadership.

The Vice-Chancellor's Excellence in Teaching Award was presented to Catherine Attard, Senior Lecturer from the School of Education. Catherine received the award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to student learning at UWS. Catherine uses findings from her research, combined with her experiences as a primary school teacher, to combat negative attitudes towards mathematics and promotes confidence, competence, and a love of teaching primary mathematics.

Andrew Shaliker, Professor, Science, from the School of Science and Health, was awarded the Excellence in Postgraduate Research, Training and Supervision Award for the dedication he has shown to the supervision and research training of his Higher Degree Research students. Andrew says what he enjoys most about his role at UWS is the interactions he has with postgraduate students. "This award recognises the importance of postgraduate education and research training within our School," says Andrew. "A large portion of research lies in the hands of postgraduate students and therefore we must provide the best level of guidance."

Gary Morgan, School Manager, Acting, School of Education received the Excellence in Professional Service Award. Gary has been working at UWS for 24 years and his first role was as a Technical Officer within the Faculty of Horticulture. "I have lived and still live most of my life in the Penrith area," says Gary. "I'm proud to be working at a University based in Western Sydney."

Gary received the award in recognition of his work developing Casual Employment Authority and Asset Management workbooks. "I developed the workbooks originally to help improve a business process for the School of Education to manage the hundreds of Casual Employment Authorities generated each year. I'm pleased staff in other business units found them useful tools, too."

This year saw the commencement of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development) Research Awards. The Biomedical Engineering and Neuroscience team won the Excellence in Research Disciplinary Team Award, and the Community Land Trust Research Team won the Research Excellence Through Partnership Award.

More information about the awards and a list of all the winners and nominated staff can be found on the University Awards webpage (opens in a new window).