August 22, 2017

University Council reappoints Ms Jillian Broadbent AO as Chancellor

Two Deputy Chancellors elected for the first time. 

The University of Wollongong (UOW) is pleased to announce the re-appointment of Ms Jillian Broadbent AO as Chancellor and the appointment of two Deputy Chancellors for the first time in UOW history, following University Council elections last Friday (18 August).  

Ms Jillian Broadbent AO was re-elected to the position of Chancellor for a two-year term ending 30 September 2019, Dr Elizabeth Magassy was elected to the position of Deputy Chancellor for a two-year term effective immediately until 18 August 2019 and Mr Robert Ryan was elected to the position of Deputy Chancellor, taking over from Mr Noel Cornish AM, for a two-year term commencing 1 January 2018 until 31 December 2019.

UOW Chief Administrative Officer and Council Secretary Melva Crouch extended her congratulations to the Chancellor and to the newly appointed Deputies.

“I would like to take this opportunity to warmly congratulate each of the candidates on their appointment,” she said.

“Mr Noel Cornish AM will continue in his current position of Deputy Chancellor until the end of this year, by which time he will have served the maximum 12 years on the University Council, and I would like to extend my sincere thanks to him for his continuing outstanding contribution.”

Following a recent change to the University of Wollongong Act 1989, the decision was made to elect two Deputy Chancellors for the first time because of the increasing number of Committee responsibilities and ceremonial events requiring the presence of the Chancellor or Deputy Chancellor.

Ms Jillian Broadbent AO, became UOW’s third Chancellor on 1 October 2009, following the Foundation Chancellor, the late Justice Robert Hope, who served from 1975 to 1997 and Michael Codd AC, who served from 1997 to 2009. After a 30 year career in banking in Australia and overseas, Ms Broadbent left her senior executive position at Bankers Trust Australia to become a non-executive director. She has held numerous Board positions and enjoys a strong engagement with the arts, having been on the Board of the Sydney Theatre Company, a founding director of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and a Trustee, Vice President and Treasurer of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Ms Broadbent was made an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2003 for service to economic and financial development in Australia and to the community through administrative support for cultural and charitable groups.

Newly appointed Deputy Chancellor Dr Elizabeth Magassy has been in full time general practice in Wollongong since 1978 and for ten years worked in general practice obstetrics, delivering around a thousand babies. She is a past president of the Illawarra Medical Association (1995-2000), a past chairman of the Illawarra Division of General Practice (2001-2004), has been chairman of The Figtree Private Hospital Medical Advisory Committee, a member of the New South Wales General Practice Council, and served as a member of Professional Services Review. She is currently chairman of Radio Doctor Illawarra and in 2005 was appointed as Clinical Associate Professor in Graduate Medicine at UOW.

Mr Robert Ryan was appointed to the University Council in January 2010 and has extensive experience in finance and management at senior executive and Board level. Mr Ryan is currently the Chief Executive of IMB Ltd and is a director of IMB Financial Planning Limited, Australian Settlements Limited, the Illawarra Regional Information Service Ltd and The Flagstaff Group. Prior to joining IMB, Mr Ryan held the positions of Managing Director, Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary at Australian Resources Limited.

Current Deputy Chancellor Mr Noel Cornish AM will finish his term on 31 December 2017. He was appointed to the University Council by the NSW Minister for Education in February 2006 and was elected to the position of Deputy Chancellor in June 2015. In 2017 Mr Cornish was appointed a Member of the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM) for his outstanding service to the Illawarra and the nation through business leadership and community service.

Under the University of Wollongong Act 1989, the Council is the governing authority of the University, acts for and on behalf of the University and controls and manages the University's affairs and concerns.