Celebrating outstanding professional staff

The 2024 Vice-Chancellor's Professional Staff Recognition Awards

Staff gathered smiling

The Vice-Chancellor's Professional Staff Recognition Awards celebrate outstanding professional staff who provide exceptional service, who are bold innovators, who are passionate about safety and who show strong leadership.

Discover the outstanding 2024 award recipients in the areas of Exceptional Service, Improvement & Innovation Excellence, Safety Excellence and Leadership and Team Excellence.

Exceptional Service

Tim Millhouse

Marketing, Digital and Communications

Tim exemplifies design excellence and unwavering professionalism. As a key designer, Tim consistently delivers exceptional work, often under complex, last-minute, and difficult briefs. He never shies away from a challenge, proving himself as the unsung hero behind many successful projects. Even when colleagues aren’t sure what they want—one of the toughest aspects of creative work—Tim's calm and professional approach ensures the final product exceeds expectations. His talents go far beyond print. Tim’s digital expertise is equally impressive, demonstrated by his ability to ensure Research news is published across platforms and critical Chancellor communications are visually engaging. A standout project was his work on the application landing page, where he overcame significant technical restrictions to produce an outstanding design that met all requirements. Tim’s contributions have not gone unnoticed, he is often requested by name, a testament to his reputation for delivering high-quality work. Moreover, Tim has stepped up to lead the team on numerous occasions, showcasing his leadership abilities. His rich capability, professionalism, and collegiality make him a pleasure to work with, and his continued contributions are critical to the success of our team and the broader university.

Roz Hagan

Faculty of Science & Engineering

Roz has been nominated for her recognition of decades of dedication, loyalty and a willingness to bring a team together in not only the teaching area of our faculty but the research as well. This is demonstrated with the relationships Roz builds with the higher degree students who learn so much from Roz in the discipline and skill to run an affective laboratory. Roz has demonstrated competent experience, professional quality and above all excellent communication in the field of Chemistry and research science. 

Geoff Cottee

Property Services

Geoff has been nominated for his exceptional service and communication in his work in capital and minor works at the University. Over many years, Geoff has worked on many major and minor works projects refurbishing University spaces across all three campuses and many with specific laboratory requirements. Each project has posed unique challenges. Geoff takes the time to listen to the stakeholders and he works his magic to coordinate a team of contractors to result in quality and innovative solutions. Managing the projects and with continual communications with the stakeholders. This all adds up to exceptional service to the University, staff and students.

Wan Bradridge

Travel Services

Wan has been nominated for her exceptional dedication to service excellence. Wan is consistently kind, incredibly efficient, and always handles every query with remarkable speed and precision. Her positive and “can-do” attitude is a hallmark of her approach to work, and she often finds creative solutions by thinking outside the box. Wan has been a lifesaver on numerous occasions, particularly when dealing with urgent travel issues, working tirelessly at all hours to ensure everyone’s safety and well-being. She is a solution-oriented person and a true inspiration to her colleagues, demonstrating exemplary service behaviour and consistently going above and beyond her responsibilities.

Donna Simon

Faculty of Health

Donna Simon is nominated for her exceptional work in coordinating the Executive Dean’s diary and workload and her outstanding support for faculty committees and events. Donna’s ability to manage complex schedules, ensure smooth communication, and anticipate the needs of the Executive Dean is remarkable. Her organisational skills are second to none, consistently maintaining efficiency and accuracy while handling a high volume of responsibilities. Beyond diary management, Donna plays a crucial behind-the-scenes role in ensuring the successful execution of key faculty events such as Faculty Forum and the ‘Healthies’. Her problem-solving skills and quick thinking ensure that any challenges are swiftly resolved, and her solutions are always practical and effective.  

Lyndall Appleby

Financial Performance Services

Lyndall provides an exceptionally insightful and informative level of service in her role as Manager of Finance Business Partners. As a subject matter expert, Lyndall makes it easy for her clients to understand the nuances of good financial stewardship and practice. She prepares thoroughly ahead of finance related conversations and provides excellent advice and resources to make decisions about budgeting and financial management more strategic and holistic. Lyndall’s level of follow up and resolution of issues is outstanding, and it is the first time in decades that I have experienced this standard of financial business partnership.

Evelyn Barnes

Office of Business Intelligence and Quality

Evelyn has been working at BIQ for the past two years, and in that time has handled hundreds of requests for data and information from staff at all levels with professionalism and diligence. Evelyn is always courteous, efficient and attentive in her work, and strives to meet the needs of the client as quickly as possible. Evelyn has worked hard to build her data skills to do increasingly complex tasks, learning how to write scripts, build dashboards and write database queries. Evelyn strives for efficiency and is always looking to learn more and to do repeated tasks smarter and better. Evelyn has used her initiative to create professional templates for our data requests and automated routine reports to ensure they can be done efficiently and without error. She is an asset to the team, always ready to lend a hand, learn from others and build on her past successes and failures to grow as a professional.

Lachlan Suter

Faculty of Health

Lachlan is an exemplary technical staff member, demonstrating unwavering commitment and a proactive approach to his work. He consistently steps up to solve problems and collaborates effectively with colleagues, tackling tasks of any size with a positive attitude and a smile. A prime example of his dedication is his work and quality service is with the hologens VR goggles in anatomy classes. Lachlan took the initiative to thoroughly understand the software and hardware involved, trained himself for efficient use, and then provided training for other staff. He was instrumental during implementation, ensuring everything ran smoothly and troubleshooting any issues that arose. His focus on delivering quality and positive outcomes for everyone involved made a complex task manageable. Lachlan achieves high levels of customer satisfaction among the students that take the classes that he is a techie for by helping to create engaging and informative classes, and by helping them grasp complex scenarios.

Toni Bedford

Student Administration Services

Hot on the tail of supporting the SC Model implementation, Toni has shown excellent partnering approaches to support the Coursework Portfolio review, and improvements to unit scheduling and timetabling approaches. Toni leads her team to be deeply student-focused while also recognizing the challenges of change for our faculties. Toni is prepared to be bold, build trust through action, while displaying a strong commitment to care for our students and our colleagues. Even under pressure, Toni displays a can-do attitude to support significant and strategic change at SCU.

Vicky Baxter-Wright

Governance Services

SCU is incredibly fortunate to have an industry best-practice level policy library that is managed by the incomparable Vicky Baxter-Wright, who is somehow across every regulation, procedure and rule governing the University and the sector. The policies and procedures in the library are so well written, in a manner and style that allows for ease of interpretation and guidance. Vicky keeps the huge library up to date and any changes in legislation or practice are rapidly adapted to relevant policies and procedures. Having an accessible, comprehensive library managed by such an experience, expert policy manager allows for easy policy referencing and contributes significantly to the University's ability to assure itself that our quality and compliance obligations are being met.

Emma Doherty

Office of the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Emma always goes above and beyond her duties for staff and HDR students. She is always available to help and provides excellent feedback and advice on grant applications. She is always thinking of ways to improve the grant application process and without her support and keen eye the grant application process would be much more difficult for academics. I would easily say she provides exceptional service.

Professional Experience Team - Faculty of Education

→ Sandra Kenny
→ Judy De Vries
→ Emily Bedford
→ Keyarrah Sweetwater-Delauney
→ Ella Hegh
→ Emilee Devine
→ Jenny Ellis
→ Renee Hogben
→ Tiffany Cutter
→ Alison Adams
→ Tina Nguyen
→ Isabella Smith
→ Vicki Hennessy
→ Margaret Fletcher 

This year, the team has faced an unprecedented increase in student enrolments in Education courses, resulting in a substantial surge in workload. Despite these challenges, the team has managed this increase impeccably, ensuring that students secure professional  placements even under nearly impossible conditions. The dedication and hard work of the Professional Experience Team have been nothing short of remarkable. They have worked cohesively to deliver excellent service to students and internal and external stakeholders. Their commitment to maintaining high standards of quality and student satisfaction is commendable.

CHEC Cafe Team

→ Amy Stevens
→ Shane Wilson
→ Taylor Stevens
→ Bethany Sigle
→ Nikki Hughes
→ Lenore Jones
→ Charles Roach 

The CHEC Café Team embodies service excellence at the Coffs Harbour Education Campus, consistently going above and beyond to support a wide range of events and serve the campus community. Whether it’s early mornings or late evenings, they are always there, providing exceptional service with a smile. It would have to be the busiest service point on campus, the café serves thousands of customers each week, offering a well-curated balance of fresh, healthy, and affordable food options. The team excels at catering to the diverse needs of students, staff, and visitors, ensuring everyone finds something they enjoy. Despite the demanding pace, they create an atmosphere of warmth and hospitality, making people happy through their service. Their hard work often goes unnoticed, but it’s the backbone of the campus - if people are well fed and have coffee then they are generally happy. 

Improvement and Innovation Excellence

Andrew Cleary

Technology Services

Andrew has made a significant impact at Southern Cross University, particularly at the Coffs Harbour campus, where his technical expertise and innovative approach have ensured a seamless transition during a period of change. His ability to adapt and maintain quality service has been invaluable during this transition. A standout example of Andrew’s work is his leadership in rolling out the Hybrid Classroom. Andrew took ownership of the Coffs fit out, making sure everything was delivered on time and tailored to the specific needs of the campus. His problem-solving and creative thinking were key to ensuring the hybrid space was not only functional but innovative, allowing both students and staff to benefit from this new learning environment. His unique role at the Coffs Harbour Education Campus means he supports not only the university but also our partners, including TAFE NSW and the Senior College.

Maureen Bezanson

University Library

Maureen has been nominated for her exceptional contributions in promoting and setting up the integration of Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (SoLT) outputs and activities into our institutional repository, Cross Connect. As part of this, she developed clear, accessible instructions and resources to empower academics to tag and add these activities directly in their researcher profiles. Her creativity stood out as she crafted engaging, multimedia resources, such as videos, to accommodate different learning styles and ensure usability for all staff. Beyond resource development, she provided expert guidance to the librarian team, equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary to support academics in managing their SoLT outputs effectively. Her initiative and dedication are a true asset to our institution.

Annie Zorzo

Academic Portfolio Office

Annie has been an invaluable asset the Academic Portfolio Office and has consistently demonstrated a remarkable commitment to supporting curriculum development across multiple disciplines. Annie is always the first to volunteer assistance, whether it involves developing new processes, creating templates, or providing critical support to colleagues and teams. Her expertise and proactive approach has seeded effective work practices across teams, and supported streamlined curriculum development at critical junctures. Annie has developed comprehensive reports and analyses with insights that have been instrumental in informing our approach to curriculum decisions, ensuring a solid foundation for data-driven decision-making, greatly enhancing the quality of information about our educational offerings. 

Connor Clare

Office of Business Intelligence and Quality

Connor is a leader in BIQ in innovation and improvement. In his two and a half years with BIQ, Connor has flourished as a skilled analyst, constantly striving to innovate, streamline and improve all aspects of BIQ’s business intelligence and data analytics work. Connor’s achievements include the delivery of three complex data dashboards in the last six months alone, the development of a reusable BIQ Datamart and comprehensive data model, the creation of multiple machine learning models, automation and scripting of time-consuming reports, and an analysis of student feedback using AI techniques. Connor is also generous with his time, supporting team members to learn, troubleshoot issues and build their own skillsets. He can be relied upon to step-in wherever needed to backfill vacant roles and train new staff and is frequently complemented on his patience and supportive approach. His work is truly excellent, pushing BIQ into new domains while remaining a true team player who wants the best outcome for the University

Narisu Zaetta

Southern Cross Global

Narisu has spearheaded the market development for the GD Early Childhood program. Over the past three years, Narisu has been the main driver for the program’s success in market, contributing significantly to the university’s budget. Narisu’s product and sales-focused approach was crucial in creating the market for the program, identifying the gap in the market, working with faculty to ensure the course was designed to meet the needs of international students, and deploying her recruitment team and working with colleagues to push it out through the agent network. Narisu’s dedication and leadership have been exemplary, demonstrating a commitment to excellence and continuous improvement. Her ability to identify market opportunities and implement effective strategies has set a benchmark for success within our institution. 

Rob Baglin

Faculty of Health

Rob who has been seconded into HR Services, has made a truly outstanding contribution to the success of the HR Casual Contracting Project. The project required rapid development of a completely new process for casual work offer and acceptance. Rob was seconded from his FOH lab management role to the project and he supported the evaluation of alternative solution options and then demonstrated great creativity, working in collaboration with the delivery lead to design, build and test an innovative solution using the Oracle APEX low code application platform on top of the existing Academic Workload Tool. Rob thoughtfully offered alternative approaches to the many design and technical problems that emerged in the course of this software development project, and the solution is significantly better than it might have been without Rob’s work. 

3D Printing Innovation Project – Science & Allied Technical & Laboratory Team – Faculty of Health

→ Lachlan Suter
→ Kristy Barker
→ Nathan Whiting
→ Juan Arrieta Terreros
→ Joshua Targett

The 3D Printing Innovation Project consisting of staff from the health technical and laboratory team - innovated and problem solved with 3D printing technology to result in sustainable, cost-saving, efficient and safer practices in the health laboratories. The project team consisting of Juan Arrieta, Nathan Whiting, Joshua Targett, Lachlan Suter and Kristy Barker have up skilled and embraced the opportunity to explore new high-tech low-cost solutions in each of their specialized areas in the Faculty of Health. This was a fantastic example of innovative teamwork - sharing knowledge, skills, experience and ideas.

Safety Excellence

Simon Evans

Property Services

Simon is nominated for his exemplary work as a Safety Support Officer in the challenging environment of the outdoor grounds staff. Simon has consistently demonstrated exceptional dedication to safety through his meticulous safety inspections, identifying and mitigating hazards that could impact his team. His expertise in safety protocols, combined with his role as a first aid officer, ensures that our outdoor staff are not only compliant with safety standards but also prepared for any emergencies. Simon actively engages with his colleagues, fostering a culture of awareness and vigilance regarding safety practices. His proactive approach has led to a marked decrease in incidents, enhancing the well-being of the entire team. Simon’s unwavering commitment to safety and his ability to work effectively in a high-risk environment make him a deserving candidate for this award. 

Nadia Toppler

Southern Cross Analytical Research Services

Nadia has worked tirelessly to meet the compliance requirements of silica dust exposure in EAL. She has introduced control measures to eliminate exposure to the team and is also looking into higher engineering controls. She extensively consulted with the effected employees to gain their input and buy in.

Joanne Cooper

Faculty of Business, Law and Arts

Joanne has been a dedicated advocate and champion for safety within our faculty, consistently keeping the Faculty informed and engaged on safety matters. She regularly communicates with staff, maintains crucial safety signage and information in our work environments, and actively checks in with staff to address any safety concerns. Joanne’s passion for safety extends to our students, especially in the context of work-integrated learning. She understands that safety encompasses all aspects of wellbeing, including physical and mental health, and that creating a safe environment often starts with small steps. For instance, Joanne placed a poster with simple stretching exercises near the photocopier, encouraging staff to use their wait time for stretches, promoting healthier backs and better posture, turning the resource room into an informal exercise space. Joanne’s commitment to safety and wellbeing makes her an invaluable asset to the Faculty.

Taylor Newling-Walkden

Student Support Services

Taylor has clearly proven her calmness and ability to remain cool during heightened situations. Taylor exhibits exceptional leadership and decision-making during emergency situations to ensure the safety of all involved. This was shown last term when a colleague had a student in crisis on the phone. Taylor assisted by immediately finding and providing needed resources, obtained the relevant Policy and Procedures for this situation, ensuring all members of the situation where being looked after. Following the de-escalation of the situation, Taylor provided a debrief circle and followed up the next day with the colleague, ensuring she was getting the support she needed.

Sophie Andrews

Workplace Relations

Sophie's knowledge, experience and approachability on safety matters is inspiring. Rather than lecture, as part of her role in the WHS team, when something has gone wrong, she encourages growth and learning from the incident, which leads to better engagement and improved outcomes.

NMSC - Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP) Team – Faculty of Science & Engineering

→ Daniel Harrison
→ Ceylena Holloway

This team participated in an investigation in March 2024 after an incident since this interaction they have taken onboard the recommendations and reached out to the WHS team on a number of occasions. The seek to collaborate and make safety a priority in the work they are doing which can be hazardous due to the experimental nature of it. They have learned and improved ever year on their field trips they undertake and championed a continues improvement mindset.

Leadership and Team Excellence

Kate Kennedy-Ripon

Future Students & Outreach

Kate has been a Positive Influence from day one, creating a supportive, high-performing environment that fosters trust, respect, and collaboration. Through her open communication and approachable leadership style, she has nurtured a spirit of camaraderie among her team, ensuring everyone feels valued and heard. Kate exemplifies a strong alignment with Southern Cross University’s strategic goals, consistently driving her team toward achieving these KPIs and key objectives by working closely with our high schools from Gold Coast to Coffs Harbour. She leads by example and is involved in all her team activities to gain a deep understanding of how to better our engagement year after year. Kate holds herself and her Future Students team accountable for high standards and effective working methods. Her ability to stay focused on outcomes while maintaining a positive and fun work environment reflects her commitment to excellence. She inspires a sense of purpose and belonging within her team, significantly building a values-driven culture across SCU. 

Jaci Newland

Future Students & Outreach

Jaci’s leadership has been key in driving recruitment activities and events, and her dedication to building a positive, collaborative environment has left a lasting impact. From the outset, Jaci’s approach has been both strategic and people-focused. Recognising the critical role that Student Ambassadors play—not just as representatives of the university, but also as students themselves. Jaci has prioritised their training and development. By implementing new systems and processes, she has ensured that Ambassadors are adequately trained, while fostering an open and supportive team culture.

Joseph Donnelly

Careers & Employability

Joseph has consistently demonstrated an exceptional level of customer satisfaction in his collaboration with the biomedical team to embed career-based activities and assessments into my units, significantly enhancing the educational experience and employability of our students. Joseph’s dedication to connecting students with vital resources and offering further support through one-to-one  appointments has been invaluable. His creativity and innovative approach are truly commendable. Joseph helped to integrate existing Health content into Blackboard (BB), showcasing his expertise and forward-thinking mindset. His collaboration with staff across the Faculty of Health to establish Career-based content in Biomed and using that framework to support the design of other units such as Exercise Physiology, exemplifies his commitment to continuous improvement and innovation. Joseph contributions have not only enhanced the educational experience for students but have also fostered a culture of excellence and innovation within the Faculty of Health.

Helen Wolton

Graduate School

Helen leads the Professional team within Graduate School in an exemplary manner. The team deliver excellent service to both HDR students and the staff engaged with the Postgraduate space. She is supportive and actually cares about the postdoctoral students and their supervisors, while simultaneously leading her team of staff, who also deliver an exemplary service. She is an incredible asset to SCU and I cannot recommend her for this award highly enough.

Christine Martin

Southern Cross Global

Christine has provided visionary guidance to the Southern Cross Global team over many years. Her ability to foresee potential challenges and opportunities has proven decisive in ensuring international students are able to arrive and enrol. Her strategic vision has been instrumental in navigating our team through complex government-enforced policy changes and multiple staff movements within the team. She regularly communicates with all stakeholders and fosters a culture of trust and collaboration within the team. She is known for her innovative problem-solving, creative solutions to overcome obstacles, ensuring smooth and efficient transitions. Her ability to think outside the box has been key to our successful adaptation to so much change. She sets high standards for herself and the team, inspiring everyone to strive for their best. In summary, Christine embodies the qualities of a true leader. Her professional can-do attitude during this challenging time in the international space has made a significant positive impact not just for Southern Cross Global, but the revenue and reputation of the wider university.

Alison Graham

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Alison exemplifies leadership through her ability to motivate colleagues and foster effective teamwork, driving the team towards excellence. Alison’s has displayed very capable leadership in the approach to managing diverse activities and teams. She played a crucial role in the discussions and planning for the G Block renovations, ensuring that both teaching and research needs were met. Her ability to coordinate with different groups and views, such as during the discussions about proportionately allocating expenses to Faculty assets such as boats & drones showcases her strategic thinking and collaborative skills. Her exceptional communication skills are evident in her interactions with colleagues. She diligently and actively seeks to inform and involve FSE staff, fostering a collaborative environment. Alison's commitment to excellence, coupled with her positive and supportive approach, makes her an outstanding candidate for this award. 

Alice De Innocentiis

Student Success Services

Alice is nominated for the team player who makes everyone feel part of something bigger. Funny enough, our weekly team meeting is on a Monday morning and makes it her team’s favourite day, as Alice truly inspires everyone to improve, promotes success and encompasses all team members. She is so committed to her job, her staff, the students and her colleagues. She always has a big smile on her face, but what impresses us the most is her willingness to drop everything and listen to the person directly in front of her. She is gracious, compassionate, an excellent communicator and can always see a way to make things better. 

Graham Lancaster

Southern Cross Analytical Research Services

Graham has been, through many years, an example of dedication, energy, intelligence, and enthusiasm for all SCU staff. His dedication to work is second to none, and his support to the people supervised by him is always noticed and appreciated. Graham understands what it takes to be a team leader, always leading by example and making sure people feel comfortable and enthusiastic doing their job. Many staff at SCU will agree that Graham deserves this recognition as a team leader. 

Alarnah McKee

Office of the Vice President (Future Students) & Outreach

Alarnah is one of the most inspirational team members on the Gold Coast FYA team. Alarnah is so impressive and capable, not to mention the youngest team member. Alarnah is the consummate professional. She happily volunteers for extra projects, is a key ‘doer’ for creating the new team processes, documents and templates and is exceptional at addressing the finer details when proof reading - she does all of this with a smile and grace. Alarnah brings calculated ideas to brainstorming sessions, completes tasks well before deadlines and is our regular go to, when we need help with the systems and technology.

National Centre of Naturopathic Medicine – Administration Team – Faculty of Health

→ Renea Duignan
→ Louise Casson
→ Nicole Steel
→ Natasha Cook

This NCNM team has led several different events across 2024 with absolute precision and resolution to ensure events are delivered and outcomes achieved. Among other tasks, the team, under leadership of Renea Duignan, has organised and delivered:

  • An inaugural week-long, multi-site Giving Day that allowed a philanthropic income stream for the NCNM and SCU of more than million dollars.
  • Plans with various stakeholders across SCU to switch the Giving Day campaign into 'always on' campaign that will benefit wider SCU community.
  • An international conference unique to the Asia-Pacific region on natural product research - this year the conference had more than 200 attendees and has attracted local and international interest in contract health research to be delivered at SCU.

Discover more staff awards

Teaching Awards
Research Awards