By GARY FRY
LOCAL businesses who extended their trading hours on Saturday to coincide with recent University of New England (UNE) graduation ceremonies have been applauded.
Armadale Dumaresq Council’s Mayor, Cr Jim Maher said the move helped enhance the local experience for visitors and boosted their economic impact in the region.
UNE Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, said that 900 students graduated from UNE over the past two weeks.
“We’ve also seen about 4000 family members and friends attend. The ceremonies are very formal and steeped in tradition,” he said.
“It all helps make the days so special. We’ve seen some big weekends for UNE, Armidale and everyone involved.”
Two Consuls-General, the German Ambassador, Hans-Dieter Steinbach and Argentine Ambassador Pedro Villagr, delivered the last two Occasional Addresses at the University of New England (UNE) graduation ceremonies.
UNE Deputy Chancellor Dr Geoff Fox handed each graduate their testamur (certificate) at all four ceremonies.
“Your university has given you the basic tools, with which you can keep learning. You need to take initiative, seize opportunities. Do so and you will influence the world we will see in decades to come,” Ambassador Steinbach said to Law and Business graduates last Friday.
“There are many people who never have the chance to attain such an education. Be conscious of the fact that as university graduates, you are in a minority around the world. You have a social responsibility to give back to the communities which you’ve come from,” Ambassador Villagr told graduates of Arts, Humanities, Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences last Saturday.
Professor Barber said that UNE was one of the nation’s fastest growing universities in 2011-12.
“UNE has now exceeded 21,000 enrolled students. So, we will have to get used to our graduation ceremonies being even bigger, at least in the short term.”
On Saturday, a Brisbane mother, son and daughter-in-law (Roseanne, Damien and Erin Dicieri) all graduated with the same new, demand responsive degree: Bachelor of Audiometry.
This degree is articulated with the Diploma of Hearing Device Prescriptions and Evaluations at TAFE (Diploma in Audiometry). It is the first of its kind in Australia at the undergraduate level.
