Professor Tom Calma AO
Chancellor of the University of Canberra
Professor Tom Calma AO is an Aboriginal elder of the Kungarakan tribal group, a member of the Iwaidja tribal group and a tireless champion for the rights, responsibilities and welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Professor Calma is the first Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander man to hold the position of Chancellor of any Australian university.
For the majority of his working life Professor Calma has been a career Commonwealth public servant responsible for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous policy and programs.
Professor Calma has been involved in and with the tertiary education sector since 1980 as an academic, in representing Australia’s interest in all education sectors internationally, on research grants, in reviewing administrative and academic structures and on advisory boards and committees at eight universities. Professor Calma has been a member of the University of Canberra Council since 2008 and was appointed as Chancellor by Council, commencing on 1 January 2014. He was reappointed to the role in 2017 and 2019 and will continue in the role until December 2022. Professor Calma is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Australian National University.
Between 1995 and 2002, Professor Calma represented Australia’s education and training interests as a senior diplomat in India and Vietnam; and in 2003, he served as Senior Adviser for Indigenous Affairs to the Honourable Philip Ruddock MP in his capacity as the Minister of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs. Professor Calma served as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission from 2004 to 2010 and as the Race Discrimination Commissioner from 2004 until 2009.
Professor Calma’s 2005 Social Justice Report – focusing on Indigenous health equality – was the catalyst for the Close the Gap campaign. The report called on Australian governments to commit to achieving equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the areas of health and life-expectancy within a generation (25 years) and advocated embedding a social determinants philosophy into public policy around health, education, employment, housing and behaviours in order to address Indigenous inequality gaps.
In 2012, Professor Calma was awarded an Order of Australia; Officer of the General Division (AO) and named ACT Australian of the Year 2013 for his service and commitment to the Indigenous community as an advocate for human rights and social justice. In October 2015, Professor Calma was awarded one of four inaugural University of South Australia Alumni Awards for his service to society and in November 2015 was awarded the Public Health Association Australia’s pre-eminent Sidney Sax Public Health Medal for notable contribution to the protection and promotion of public health, advancing community awareness of public health measures and advancing the ideals and practice of equity in the provision of health care. In July 2016, Professor Calma received the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Flag Award on the 240th anniversary of the United States of America’s independence.
Professor Calma is Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia (on leave of absence for 2020), Chair of the not-for-profit organisation Ninti One Ltd and Patron and Chair of the Poche Centres for Indigenous Health Network. Professor Calma was appointed a Professor with the University of Sydney’s Medical School to Chair the Poche Indigenous Health Network on 1 January 2015. In 2008, Professor Calma delivered the formal response to the government’s National Apology to the Stolen Generations. Since March 2010, Calma performed the role of National Coordinator Tackling Indigenous Smoking to lead the fight against tobacco use in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. In July 2016 (to October 2019) Professor Calma was appointed as an external member of the Australian Public Service Secretaries’ Equality and Diversity Council and in October he was appointed the inaugural Chair of the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity program led by the University of Melbourne.
In July 2019 Professor Calma was appointed to the Australian Education Council’s Review of Senior Secondary Pathways.
In October 2019 Professor Calma was appointed by Minister for Indigenous Australians, the Hon Ken Wyatt AM, MP as Co-Chair of Voice Co-Design Senior Advisory Group for 12 months. He has concurrently taken a leave of absence from his role as Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia.
Professor Calma is an inaugural Trustee of the Charles Perkins Trust that funds scholarships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Oxford and Cambridge universities in the UK.
University Profile
The University of Canberra is a young, dynamic, professionally oriented university with a clear public purpose serving the people and communities of Canberra and the surrounding regions – city to coast, alpine to tablelands. Our location in Australia’s capital city, surrounded by dynamic areas of regional Australia, defines who we are and the unique offerings we take to the world. While our home is Canberra, our reach is global.
We are the university in, of and from Canberra.
We are a young university with fierce ambition. Our continued success in research and education has been internationally recognised, resulting in UC becoming the world’s fastest rising university in the nation and the world (QS, 2019). UC has been named in the top one per cent of universities worldwide, placed in the 193rd position of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020, and is ranked 34 in the world’s top 100 young universities by the 2019 Times Higher Education Young University Rankings.
Our graduates enjoy an 89 per cent employment rate and higher starting salaries than the Australian university average, and many of our 86,000 alumni hold influential positions in public and private sectors in 120 countries.
We are a leading sports institution and have strong ties with elite sporting teams. We proudly own WNBL team the University of Canberra Capitals and our women’s rugby sevens squad competes in the Uni 7s Series. We support W-League team Canberra United and the ACT Brumbies Super Rugby team call our campus home.
Through a transformative campus development plan, the university will continue to evolve into an interactive, connected hub of scholars, learners and innovators.
The University of Canberra Hospital (UCH) opened on campus in mid-2018 and is our cornerstone facility in the university’s rapidly developing health precinct. The subacute care facility specialises in the provision of rehabilitation, mental health, and aged care health services. Other developments include a cancer care centre, with aged care facility and residential development underway.
To find out more, visit the University of Canberra website www.canberra.edu.au
Governance
University of Canberra Council
The governing body of the University, the Council, is established under the University of Canberra Act 1989 (ACT) and is responsible for the entire management of the University.
The Council sets the strategic direction of the University and drives performance through the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor and President, oversight and review of the business plan and budget, oversight of academic activities and the monitoring of risk and the systems of control and accountability.
Membership of the University of Canberra’s Council is as follows:
Ex-Officio Members
Professor Tom Calma AO – Chancellor (to 31 December 2022)
Professor Paddy Nixon – Vice Chancellor and President (from 6 April 2020)
Professor Elisa Martinez-Marroquin – Chair of the Academic Board (to 31 December 2022)
Appointed Members – Ministerial
Dr Chris Faulks – Deputy Chancellor (to 30 June 2020)
Mr Barry Mewett (to 20 October 2020)
Mr Glenn Keys AO (to 30 June 2020)
Mr David Sturgiss (to 22 January 2021)
Dr Michael Schaper (to 18 November 2021)
Ms Annabelle Pegrum AM (to 18 November 2021)
Ms Patricia Kelly PSM (to 8 April 2022)
Dr Tom Karmel AM (to 18 November 2021)
Elected Members
Professor Kate Pumpa – Academic Staff (to 31 December 2021)
Ms Melissa Hankinson – Professional Staff (to 31 December 2021)
Mr Anthony Davidson – Postgraduate Student (to 31 December 2020)
Ms Emma Montgomery – Undergraduate Student (to 31 December 2020)
Secretary to Council
Mr Eric Wells, General Counsel and University Secretary
Other Governing Bodies
Other Governing bodies within the University include:
Academic Board
Chair – Professor Elisa Martinez-Marroquin
Audit and Risk Management Committee
Chair – Mr Barry Mewett
Finance Committee
Chair – Mr David Sturgiss
Nominations and Senior Appointments Committee
Chair – Professor Tom Calma AO, Chancellor
Legislation Committee
Chair – Ms Patricia Kelly PSM
Planning and Development Committee
Chair – Dr Chris Faulks, Deputy Chancellor