A brief reprieve from Sydney’s smoke haze made for a beautiful morning, as staff came together in the shade of a eucalypt grove for the University’s annual all-staff breakfast on 5 December. 

A delicious breakfast was served up by members of the Executive team, with Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Sakkie Pretorius in a particularly happy mood after the previous day’s announcement of $9.6 million in new Discovery Project and Discovery Indigenous Scheme funding Macquarie research projects.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Kevin Jameson and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Sakkie Pretorius team up to dish out breakfast.

Taking the chance to commend Macquarie staff for their hard work in 2019, the Vice-Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton acknowledged that changes affecting the sector had made it a challenging year.

“We may have some headwinds blowing against us, but the wind behind our backs is the sense of community that makes Macquarie University special – it is what makes us strong,” he said. “I see achievements abounding all around us – milestones that we can look out and see during these times – and it fills me with great pride and gratitude to you all.”

Urging everyone to be particularly careful during the unprecedented bushfire season, the Vice-Chancellor wished everyone a safe and restful holiday break.

“This is a time for rest, relaxation and connecting with family and friends, and I hope you are all able to come back reinvigorated for a new year.”

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We asked Macquarie staff at the breakfast to share their personal highlight of 2019.

Kim Chi Hoang – Finance Assistant, Finance
Daisy Chin – Finance Officer, Finance
Richard Maher – Finance Officer, Finance

“Discovering the chips at Burger Freight in the Campus Common – among the best chips I have ever experienced, and the servings are always filled beyond the container’s capacity (one must improve their balancing skills before they enjoy their savoury delight!)” –– Richard

Anne-Marie Dobner – Individual Giving Specialist, Advancement
Phillip Raponi – Manager, Office of Learning and Teaching
Anne Peedom – Planned Giving Manager, Advancement
Josh Fry – Senior Alumni Coordinator, Macquarie Business School

“Working with the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) on finalising Macquarie’s new learning and teaching strategic framework 2020-2024 which will set us up learning and teaching success for the next four years.” — Phillip

Phil Hunt – Electrical Projects Manager, Property
Josefino Testor – Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic, Property
Neil Clissold – Leading Hand (Electrical), Property

MQ Health staff (L-R): Christopher Schmidt, Jacklyn Orlando, ‘Tosin’ Oluwatosin Akinya-Ojo, Marcella Grech, Ruth Cho, Marisol Nieves, Abby Fyfe, Hannah Reid-Anderson, Mihaela Gronski and Wayne Wheatley.

Graciel Cacnio – Project Officer – Orientation and Transition, Student Life
Michael Garganera – Educational Media Producer, Learning Innovation Hub
Michael Catabay – Educational Media Producer, Learning Innovation Hub

“Supporting the professional growth of over 180 volunteers in the Macquarie Mentors program was my highlight. It’s always a pleasure to see students achieve their goals and become more confident in themselves.” — Graciel

Tony Wai ­– Library Services Coordinator, Library
Prameeta Lingam­ – Library Services Officer
Laura Stroud ­–Library Services Officer
Kathryn Hill ­– Collections and Discovery Services Librarian

“A book chapter I co-authored on the topic of Lean Methodology in Library practices was published in ‘Global Lean for higher education’. We have a copy in the library (obviously!). Most importantly, I took 22 weeks off work being my newborn daughter’s primary carer and transitioned back to full time work smoothly.” — Tony

Josh Aldridge – Scientific Officer (Bio-Research Park), Department of Biological Sciences
Jacqui Delahunt – Administrator (Research Centre), Department of Biological Sciences
Maryam Yazdani – Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Biological Sciences