VC voice
Producing tomorrow's leaders
Professor Ian O'Connor
Leadership is core to the purpose of the University. Through our teaching and learning programs we develop the leaders of tomorrow - the next generation of professionals committed to making a difference in their discipline and as educated citizens.
Just as importantly the University's research and scholarly activity leads the development of our understanding of, and responses to, the key social, economic and scientific issues of our time. At its best this work anticipates and shapes the future.
Griffith staff play a leading role in a number of major issues facing society. Their work provides understanding and hopeful pathways for the future. We take this leadership role seriously. It was for this reason that Griffith University was a leadership partner in the Earth Dialogues Forum which was hosted by Mikhail Gorbachev, former USSR President and chair of Green Cross International, and the Premier of Queensland Peter Beattie.
For Gorbachev, the core issue for the future is sustainability, and this requires leadership to change our practices: "This turnaround must begin with changes in the human spirit, a reprioritisation of our value system, including relations between people and the interrelationship between humanity and nature. We need a Global Glasnost - openness, transparency and public dialogue - on the part of nations, governments and citizens to build a global consensus around these challenges."
Griffith was a leadership partner for Earth Dialogues because of our long-standing strengths in environmental sciences. One of the major local and global environmental issues is water. Griffith is home to the largest group of water researchers in any university in Australia. The establishment by Griffith of the Australian Rivers Institute gives expression to our leadership in this domain as our teams of multi-disciplinary researchers work in collaboration to deal with the key challenges facing Australia and the world.
To sharpen our capabilities to lead the research that shapes the future, Griffith University has created four other domains of major expertise: Drug Discovery; Social Change and Well-Being; Democracy, Security and Public Policy; and Environments for Healthy Living.
As Gorbachev argued, leadership is also about promoting informed open public discussion. We take this responsibility very seriously. Every three months we publish the Griffith REVIEW to promote public consideration of the key issues of our time. The current issue, The Next Big Thing, captures the reality of youth culture and contemporary cultural movements; the previous issue, titled Hot Air, was devoted to global warming.
Griffith takes pride in preparing the leaders of tomorrow, and seeks to imbue its graduates with a desire to behave ethically and to be responsible and effective citizens. Recently, Griffith Business School (GBS) joined the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative sponsored by the European Foundation for Management Development. GBS is the only Australian business school to gain membership and joins 21 institutions from five continents in committing to transform business education and develop the next generation of globally responsible and ethically centred business leaders.
Griffith has taken the lead in a number of teaching and research fields. The University offered Queensland's first degrees in environmental studies, aviation and biomolecular science, and offers Australia's only combined photonics and nanoscience degree. Our first graduates from the School of Pharmacy received their degrees in August. Griffith's program is unique in that students complete three years of a Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science and 18 months of a Master of Pharmacy.
Griffith has also taken a leadership role in the area of public policy and has played a key role in the establishment of both the Australia and New Zealand School of Government based in Melbourne, and the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership based in Cairns.
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