RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Margaret Gardner AO, said the 31 teaching and eight research awards celebrated the tremendous achievements of academic staff.

“It is the plain hard work of people, individually or as team players, that is making a positive difference within RMIT,” Professor Gardner said.

“In turn, our achievements are increasingly apparent in the wider external arenas of teaching, research, industry and the community.”

Professor Gardner paid tribute to Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Jim Barber, who leaves RMIT this year to take up his appointment as Vice-Chancellor at the University of New England.

“I would like to thank Jim, who has been leading learning and teaching at RMIT for the past four years, for the unique qualities of vision, pragmatism and values he has applied during his time at RMIT,” she said.

The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence in 2009 was presented to Professor Aleksandar Subic, Head of the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.

Associate Professor John Reece, from the School of Health Science, and Associate Professor Sandra Jones, from the School of Management, were both recognised with Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching awards.

The School of Media and Communication’s Associate Professor Laurene Vaughan received the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Emerging Researcher, while the 2009 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Thesis was awarded to Dr Janet Hunt from the School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning for her thesis, “Local NGO’s in National Development: The Case of East Timor”.

Other research awards were presented to:

Dr Yoko Akama, School of Media and Communication, the Ian Permezel Memorial Award for an early career researcher to enable presentation of a paper at an overseas conference
Associate Professor Lisa French, School of Media and Communication, the Malcolm Moore Industry Research Award, supporting a new industry-partnered research project by an early career researcher
Dr Zarina Md Nor, School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, University Research Prize for Outstanding Thesis
Dr Matthias Haeusler, School of Architecture and Design, University Research Prize for Outstanding Thesis
Dr Goranco Milosovski, School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University Research Prize for Outstanding Thesis

Professor Barber congratulated RMIT staff for their endeavours and their commitment to advancing learning and teaching at the University.

“Over the past couple of years the strength of our learning and teaching strategy and initiatives internally has yielded recognition and success externally,” he said.

“The most rewarding aspect is to see how academic staff have responded to the challenge to re-invigorate learning and teaching and take it forward, and the benefits for our students and their increased engagement with learning at RMIT – the evidence of which is apparent in the improved satisfaction of our students.”

（www.eduwo.com, Anna）