Fellow of the University of Wollongong
Citation delivered by Mr David Vance at the University of Wollongong on the occassion of the admission of Rosalie Mary Montagner as a Fellow of the University on 6 October 2022.
Rosalie Montagner is an outstanding ambassador for the University of Wollongong and a committed and generous volunteer, giving freely of her time and energy to support students, staff, alumni and the wider community.
A graduate of UOW, Rosalie brought distinction to the University and to the education profession more broadly throughout her career in teaching, which spans four decades. She engaged early in research to shape best practice and harness innovative open classroom management techniques, and has been a valued mentor and demonstrator to generations of education students.
On her retirement, Rosalie became one of the University’s most dedicated and engaged volunteers. She has served the Campus Alumni Chapter for more than 12 years, taking up the role of Secretary soon after joining. She is a driving force in the success of the Alumni Bookshop, giving around 20 hours of her time every week to manage communications and the rostering of more than 70 volunteers to enhance the success and impact of this much-loved program.
As one of the Alumni Bookshop’s central champions, Rosalie has helped steer the initiative through a substantial relocation and pandemic lockdowns to deliver an expanded service and realise significant gains in revenue. This has enabled the awarding of more than 30 equity scholarships and 170 excellence prizes as well as raising almost $300,000 to extend this support to disadvantaged students across every UOW campus in perpetuity.
Rosalie has also been instrumental in building strong collegial ties among UOW staff past and present as an active member and executive of the UOW Social Club. She financially supports scholarships and research as an individual donor and is an active volunteer with St Vincent de Paul.
Chancellor, Rosalie Montagner epitomises the values UOW upholds in its volunteers and alumni, taking great joy in giving selflessly for the good of the University and community. We are all the richer for her involvement.
It is with pleasure that I present Rosalie Montagner to be admitted as a Fellow of the University of Wollongong.