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Monday, 5 August 2002

The University of Adelaide has a new Vice-Chancellor.

Professor James McWha [pronounced: Mc-WAUGH] officially takes up the position today, becoming the 19th Vice-Chancellor in the University of Adelaide's 128-year history.

Formerly Vice-Chancellor and President of Massey University in New Zealand, Professor McWha, 55, has an outstanding record as an academic administrator and communicator.

A native of Northern Ireland, Professor McWha is strongly involved in the higher education sector on a global level, and in June he became Secretary-General of the International Association of University Presidents.

Before his appointment at Massey in 1996, Professor McWha had extensive experience in the management of biological research institutes. He played a formative role in the development of the New Zealand universities' quality assurance system, a system similar to that currently being introduced in Australia.

The University's Chancellor, Mr Robert Champion de Crespigny, is holding a formal dinner tonight to welcome the new Vice-Chancellor and to thank the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Professor Cliff Blake, for his contribution to the University over the last 12 months.

Professor McWha's official engagements in his first week at Adelaide include a meeting with the other two South Australian Vice- Chancellors on August 6, the launch of the University's Faculty of Sciences on August 7, and the opening on August 9 of the SA node of the National Networked Tele-Test Facility for Integrated Systems.