CASS alumni awarded for excellence in diverse fields

New and long-time members of the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences alumni community have been honoured in the 2015 Alumni Awards, presented at a gala dinner at the National Gallery of Australia.

Top honour went to Indiana University President Professor Michael McRobbie, who received the Alumnus of the Year award.

Professor McRobbie has built an international reputation as an information technology innovator since he graduated from ANU with a PhD in philosophy in1979. He held many roles at ANU, first as a researcher and later as a professor, and was chief executive of the CRC for Advanced Computational Systems.

He has worked at Indiana University since 1997, and became the university’s 18th President in July 2007.

“ANU allowed my research career to blossom and allowed me to develop skills in administration, entrepreneurship and global engagement with colleagues and mentors that have served me extremely well in my career in the US,” Professor McRobbie said.

“The intellectual atmosphere at ANU is as good as the best American Universities. It really is a superb intellectual environment.”

While visiting ANU, Professor McRobbie hosted a morning tea with academics and research students from the College.

Joint Alumnus of the Year for Research or Academia was awarded to Professor Howard Morphy FAHA FASSA, (PhD Anthropology) ’78.

Professor Morphy has been at ANU on and off for 40 years and has pioneered the understanding of Aboriginal art as an essential part of Indigenous culture. He has held many positions at ANU including Director of the Research School of Humanities and the Arts from 2010 to 2013, and has supervised over 150 research and master students during his career.

“Research-led education means that we are all working together as a team. And that has enabled me to retain the sense of being a rather privileged graduate student all my academic life, complementing any other roles I may have played,” he said.

In addition to the enormous contribution he’s made to the field of anthropology, applied anthropology has also been a high priority for Professor Morphy.

A highlight of his career, he said, was working with his wife Frances Morphy on the Blue Mud Bay Native Title Claim, which led to full recognition of Indigenous ownership of the intertidal zone along 82% of the Northern Territory coastline.

“I’ve always been concerned with breaking the boundaries between pure and applied research, and ensuring that research findings in the humanities and social sciences help inform public understanding. This is what led me to become involved in curating museum exhibitions, and in many film projects,” he said.

The International Alumnus of the Year was awarded to Theresa Foo-Yo Mie Yoen, BA (OrientalStudies) ’66, who has risen through the ranks in the banking industry in Singapore, and is a strong supporter of the arts, philanthropy and corporate responsibility.

Founder of F!NK Design Robert Foster, BA (Visual) ’85, GradDipArt (Visual) ’86, was joint recipient of the Alumnus of the Year - Innovation and Entrepreneurship for his leadership in the Canberra art and design community.

Recent Bachelor of Arts graduate (2014) Ben Duggan, was awarded joint Undergraduate Student of the Year for his work in founding the Raising Hope Foundation which arranges mentoring for high school students with ANU students.

A full list of all ANU award winners is available at: http://www.anu.edu.au/alumni/awards/alumni-awards