June 12, 2024

King’s Birthday Honours for UOW academics

Professors Stuart Kaye, Lisa Kervin and Kathleen Clapham recognised for immense contributions to education, law, indigenous health

Three extraordinary academics from the University of Wollongong (UOW) have been recognised for their immense contributions to their respective fields in the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours, announced this week (Monday 10 June).

Distinguished Professor Stuart Kaye OAM, Professor Lisa Kervin AM and Professor Kathleen Clapham AM were among more than 700 Australians who were honoured in the annual awards.

UOW Acting Vice-Chancellor and President Professor David Currow congratulated Professor Kaye, Professor Kervin and Professor Clapham for their hard work and dedication to their communities.

“The University is exceptionally proud of the UOW staff who have been recognised in the prestigious King’s Birthday Honours List. We celebrate their individual achievements and the immense role they have played in contributing to their communities,” Professor Currow said.

“The accomplishments of Professor Kaye, Professor Kervin, and Professor Clapham are well known at the University but we are thrilled to see them recognised on a national level. Their success and commitment inspire our staff, students, and alumni to make a positive impact on our society.”

^{Distinguished Professor Stuart Kaye said it was "delightful to be recognised for work that I love".}

Distinguished Professor Stuart Kaye, Medal of the Order of Australia

Professor Kaye was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), in recognition of his immense contribution to international law, focusing on maritime law and ocean resources preservation.

Professor Kaye, Director of the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), based at UOW, said the honour came as a wonderful surprise. 

“It is delightful to be recognised for work that I love. That is in no small part due to the fantastic team of people I work with at ANCORS, who are all committed to improving the world’s oceans,” he said.

“I am grateful every day for the opportunity to do this work, so recognition like this is a bonus.”

Professor Kaye was formerly the Dean of Law at the University of Western Australia, Chair in Law at the University of Melbourne from 2006 to 2010 and was Dean and Professor of Law at the University of Wollongong between 2002 and 2006. He is admitted as a Barrister of the Supreme Courts of New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland and was appointed a Distinguished Professor of the UOW in 2019. 

As the Director of ANCORS, Professor Kaye leads a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from the fields of law, social sciences, and environmental sciences work together with national governments and community stakeholders to implement legislative, regulatory and management changes. They also develop community-based management plans aimed at protecting local fish stocks. 

Professor Lisa Kervin, Member of the Order of Australia

Professor Kervin was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).

Director of Research at UOW Early Start, Professor Kervin is a renowned academic in the fields of early education, children’s literacy, and digital practices. She was honoured in the King’s Birthday Awards for her significant contribution to tertiary education and for her research in early childhood digital literacy.

Professor Kervin is the Chief Investigator of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, an international transdisciplinary research centre that brings together six Australian universities and 33 academic and industry partner organisations from Australia, Europe, Asia and the United States.

She was delighted and surprised by her inclusion in the King’s Birthday Honours.

“I feel incredibly humbled to receive the honour. I have had the great fortune of working and collaborating with many amazing colleagues (within and external to UOW) who encourage, motivate and extend me as a researcher,” Professor Kervin said.

“In more than 20 years at UOW I have always been encouraged to explore new ideas and the Early Start research environment has been such an enabler. I am so very grateful to the many children, their families and educators who have shared their spaces and experiences with me, without them I wouldn’t have been able to make the contributions which are the backbone of this award.”

^{Professor Kathleen Clapham was honoured for her immense service to Indigenous community health, to anthropology, and to tertiary education.}

Professor Kathleen Clapham, Member of the Order of Australia

Professor Clapham, a renowned and highly respected Aboriginal researcher and anthropologist, was recognised with a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).

Founding Director of the Ngarruwan Ngadju: First People’s Health and Wellbeing Research Centre based at UOW, Professor Clapham was honoured for her immense service to Indigenous community health, to anthropology, and to tertiary education.

A descendent of the Murrawarri people of north-western NSW, Professor Clapham’s research in Indigenous health focuses on health equity; safety, health and wellbeing of children and young people; community based interventions; social and cultural determinants of health; and health services improvements.

Under Professor Clapham’s leadership, Ngarruwan Ngadju has a vision to provide Indigenous-led health and wellbeing research, sustained by strong and enduring community partnerships.