Southern Cross Matters

Others suffered significant property damage and quite a number found themselves unable for several days to leave the immediate environs of their homes due to flooding and storm damage.

Yet in these chaotic conditions, so much extraordinary work was accomplished with a spirit of positivity, forbearance and determination. Whether in relation to ensuring that our Lismore campus was a safe haven for those in our community most in need of refuge from howling winds and the threat of flooding or in the agility demonstrated by such a great many people when it became necessary to make the call to move our teaching operations for week one online, I saw our values shining through again and again. I saw them still more strongly at work in the many acts of care across those difficult days, as people reached out to each other, checked in and made so many practical, helpful and kind gestures to one another. This was emblematic of the best traditions of Southern Cross University and is something that every one of us should be deeply proud of.

Every one of us is a custodian of the reputation and culture of our University and as you look forward across the remainder of the year, I hope that each day you’ll reflect on our values, how they guide your approach to your work and your interactions with other colleagues, students and community members and how you can actively contribute to the ongoing development, growth and vitality of our University.

Tyrone

“My official engagement as a Research Collaborator at ANSTO, Australia’s only nuclear science and technology organisation, gains me access to environmental chemistry laboratories vital to advancing my research,” she said.

Dr Gall’s research will investigate how Cultural Medicines can be embedded into Australian health policies to improve cultural safety, health and wellbeing. The second area of focus is to protect Cultural Medicine knowledge through research that informs research and development in drug discovery, regulation and intellectual property, to realise the self-determination of First Peoples and their communities.

“Through my research I hope to support my community at large to have access to, and genuine ownership of, their Cultural Medicines across all sectors. These medicines are vital to supporting our holistic health and wellbeing and have the potential to drive economic self-determination for the community.”

Professor James Bennett-Levy is leading a world-first PTSD trial, aimed at developing new treatment options for disaster-related PTSD and improving recovery strategies for affected communities.

Professor Andrew Rose is contributing to the development of a bio-based, low-carbon housing system using waste cardboard and underutilised local timber that could provide sustainable emergency housing.

PhD candidate Muhammad Islami, Professor Kirsten Benkendorff, and a dedicated team of marine science students and researchers have been conducting extensive field sampling to assess the flood’s impact on estuarine ecosystems, which have suffered from heavy sedimentation and pollution.

Professor Amanda Reichelt-Brushett, president of the Richmond Riverkeeper group, has been investigating and gaining community feedback on the long-term effects of human activity on the Richmond River catchment. 

Through Southern Cross University innovation, research, and collective action, the Northern Rivers community continues to rebuild and adapt, stronger, more prepared, and deeply connected to the place we call home. 

Cafe and Catering Manager Lauren Flint said the team served more than 400 meals across three days.

“From Saturday through to Monday, we were providing breakfast, lunch and dinner for the evacuation centre. Keanan and Javiera were running the kitchen and did an amazing job. I am so proud of them,” Lauren said. 

“We have been operating for just over a month so to be able to do something like this just proves that we have an amazing team and can do anything we set our minds to in this space.”

The weather event saw Southern Cross University close its campuses at the Gold Coast, Lismore, Coffs Harbour and The Hotel School Brisbane, with the University transitioning to an online mode of operation from 6 March to 14 March.

"With growing postgraduate enrolments, particularly in graduate diploma courses, and data indicating that many postgraduates are unaware of the support available, now is the time to strengthen and promote these services,” said Dr Chithira Johnson, Director, Student Support & Success.

“Our goal is to ensure every postgraduate student has access to the guidance and resources they need to succeed." 

Dedicated First Year Advisers are now onboard specifically for postgraduate students, offering tailored guidance from enrolment through the first term.

"Transitioning to a new institution can be challenging, even for postgraduates. A dedicated First Year Adviser provides personalised support to help students navigate challenges, connect with resources, and build confidence,” said Dr Pete Muir, Manager, First Year Success.

“Our aim is to foster the same sense of belonging and success we prioritise for all students," he said.

Beyond academic demands, postgraduate students often juggle family responsibilities, work commitments, and study. Time management and adjusting to university technologies are some of the biggest hurdles.

"A First Year Adviser can help students with time management strategies, technical support, and connect them to vital resources such as learning support, career guidance, counselling services, and equity and inclusion assistance,” said Tony Ciccone, First Year Adviser, Postgraduate Programs (Coursework).

“Most importantly, they help students find their community and ensure they feel supported throughout their journey." 

A few months in, the program is receiving positive feedback from students. This is a fantastic achievement for the team in enhancing the postgraduate student experience at Southern Cross University!

“My role in our new veterinary school at Southern Cross covers quality assurance processes, curriculum, assessment progression, and in the later years will incorporate skills assessment packages, and training external partners and clinical partners,” she says.

“We have a unique distributed model where rather than owning our own veterinary teaching hospital and farm, we have external providers – farms, clinics and wildlife organisations – who will help build a contextual education for students in the real world.

“This will give our students exposure to a broader caseload, more species of animals, more realistic and intensive real-life veterinary experiences. It’s great experiential learning for our students and the aim is to produce graduates that are ready to work, team players who are willing to learn and they’ve got great base skills that meet their day one competencies.

“We have the benefit of being a regional university with great exposure to mixed veterinary practice (both companion and production animals) – plus benefits some other regional unis don’t have, in that we have a temperate climate so more ready access to a variety of livestock enterprises.  Our students over the course of their degree, will work with horses, dairy cows, pigs and poultry as well as domestic animals and wildlife. We may even be able to capitalise on the location and introduce training in the aquaculture industry as well.

“While we have generous scholarships available for high-ATAR students, we will also give merit to students who have prior experience with animals, perhaps they’ve had extensive farm work experience after leaving school or have previously trained as a vet nurse, which may not be reflected in an ATAR but is of high value in the course they’ll be studying.”

Associate Professor Wilson spent eight years as a senior academic at JCU veterinary school, teaching farm biosecurity, state veterinary medicine, and epidemiology, prior to which her role as a biosecurity consultant saw her working around Australia to assist livestock farmers to develop biosecurity plans and implement measures to help protect the livestock industries from diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease and Lumpy Skin Disease that are not currently in Australia.

Other career highlights included working as a clinician at UQ’s veterinary teaching hospital during the finalisation of her PhD, eight years as a district veterinary officer with QLD DPI, and as a mixed practice vet across Australia, and in Scotland. In 2007 she was flown from Scotland to England in a rapid response team of 20 to begin the containment and eradication of Foot and Mouth Disease – which turned into a logistical mammoth with more than 400 staff headquartered out of a decommissioned hospital in the Surrey countryside.

Professor Wilson will teach her first Southern Cross subject in Term 2 ‘Foundation of Veterinary Professionalism and Communications’ to the inaugural cohort of Veterinary Technology students, with the first Bachelor of Veterinary Science students set to commence study in 2026.

More than 400 participants attended the conference in-person and online, with the event filmed by the National Archives of Australia.

Dean of Law, Professor David Heilpern, said it was a vibrant and interactive event that was well received by mayors, councillors, planners, developers, lawyers and advocates for people experiencing homelessness.

“Our goal was to stimulate discussion regarding land-sharing, to explore alternative ideas, and learn some lessons from the 1970’s pioneers and current developers. Some highlights were the presentations from the Tiny House Association, an academic from James Cook University on an Indigenous Elder land-sharing venture in Cairns, the passionate pleas for housing rights from flood effected and homelessness activists and, of course, our own Aidan Rickets, with his overview of climate change and the housing crisis from his perspective as an activist lawyer and flood hero,” he said.

“This was the second major conference Southern Cross Law has run in the past 12 months, and we are gearing up for a third later this year on Children, Trauma and the Law which will be a two-day event and is already exciting interest.”

Once the cyclone had passed and the balmy Gold Coast weather returned, new and returning Southern Cross students were welcomed in person at the Campus Expo, which was a fantastic way to meet and greet with the University community.

“The Orientation team, along with our SCU Vollies were excited to welcome our new cohort of students to the Southern Cross community,” said Karly Murray, Student Success Coordinator (Orientation and Volunteering).

“With a blend of online orientation, interactive workshops, and a lively on-campus event in Lismore and Coffs Harbour, we created countless opportunities for students to connect, feel supported, and begin their university journey with confidence and a genuine sense of belonging.” 

"Monopoly has been a family favourite for generations, so we jumped at the chance to have Southern Cross Uni and the Solitary Islands Aquarium represented on the Coffs Monopoly board and Top Trumps card game," Mr Key said.

"Not only is it exciting to see both our locations as the ‘green properties,’ but it’s an honour to be part of the beautiful Coffs Harbour community, now immortalised on this iconic board."

Mr Monopoly even made a surprise appearance at Orientation Day, with plenty of eager fans lining up for a photo. Can you guess which staff member (pictured) is rocking the suit?

If you fancy a game, you can grab your own Coffs Harbour Monopoly or Top Trumps cards from the Solitary Islands Aquarium foyer!

A first-of-its-kind Australian trial using a Shared Medical Appointment framework achieved a 30% diabetes remission for the Aboriginal women who took part. There was strong interest in the study, led by John Stevens: 295 articles, with an audience of 1.4 million. Highlights include ABC News online; National Indigenous Radio Service; Koori Mail; ABC local radio nationally.

Two articles in The Conversation achieved high readership numbers. Bronwyn Orr from the veterinary science program has almost 59k readers interested in Thousands of Australian pets may soon have ‘useless’ microchips. It’s a symptom of a bigger problem along with interview requests. Almost 33k people (mostly from the judiciary and legal system) have read ‘They’re meant to help and did the complete opposite’: many children feel silenced by family courts by Georgina Dimopoulos.

Keep up to date at scu.edu.au/news where you will find the University’s media releases, feature articles, podcasts, videos and more.