VC'S DESK
The year that was: 2014
When significant milestones in our lives are reached, we are afforded a brief opportunity to pause and reflect on the past, assess where we have landed in the present, and look with anticipation for what the future might hold. For Macquarie University, our Jubilee year has been such an opportunity; we have reflected on the first 50 years of this great institution and shared many fond memories from our foundation years and beyond. We have also taken stock of where the institution is at in 2014, and where we are destined to go over the next 50 years.
As our Jubilee celebrations come to a conclusion, I would like to share some of the highlights from the many wonderful events that have occurred both on campus and off campus over the past 12 months. We have come together as a community and celebrated this significant milestone with great enthusiasm, and I look back at the events of the past year with fondness.
We reflected on the past at the Jubilee pioneer’s morning tea. The event was an opportunity for the University to reconnect with our founders and the staff and alumni that cemented our place in the Australian tertiary education landscape, establishing Macquarie as a University of difference. Stories and fond memories of the early Macquarie years emerged and were shared amongst old friends, some of which were captured on our Jubilee Digital Hub.
The burial of the Jubilee time capsule was an important opportunity to preserve for the future Macquarie community the institution as it is today. It contains items that represent the University in 2014: drawings by children from the Mia Mia Centre; the PACE program, which was uploaded onto iPads; clap sticks hand-carved by Warawara; and the Jubilee edition of the student magazine. The present University staff community also came together for a significant celebration on 12 June as we marked the official 50-year milestone in the Atrium.
More recently, we have fixed our gaze towards the future with great anticipation for what it may bring. The Jubilee Gala was a gathering of alumni and friends of the University, during which our new visual identity was proudly revealed. I believe that the event was a true reflection of the University’s vision for the next 50 years. We are, and will continue to be a university of service and engagement, ready to change the world with impactful research and bold ideas. We are an institution of innovation and creativity, which was on display in the music and dance performances on the night, all by current Macquarie students, staff and alumni.
But the fleeting moment to pause and reflect on the past achievements of this institution has now passed us by and we must look towards the future. We are a wonderful university; a beacon on the hill that illuminates this land and shines far beyond. We are destined for new and greater achievements and together we can reach new heights. Macquarie University is on the verge of greatness but we must forge ahead. We have been nurtured for greatness, but now we must break free.