Leaders feted at final University of Adelaide graduations

During the final graduations ceremonies for The University of Adelaide the contributions of two outstanding community leaders are being honoured.

The Honourable Catherine Branson AC SC and Emeritus Professor Janice Reid AC were awarded Honorary Doctorates, the highest recognition the University can bestow.

“It is very fitting that the final two Honorary Doctorates presented by The University of Adelaide are given to such outstanding candidates as Chancellor Branson and Emeritus Professor Reid,” said University of Adelaide Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor John Williams AM.

“The University is also honoured to bestow its final cohort of graduates with their awards. We look forward to watching the achievements of these graduates with pride in the coming years, and hope they take inspiration from the careers of our Honorary Doctorates.”

Chancellor Branson’s career has spanned more than 50 years during which she has had a far-reaching impact stemming from her work in the legal world.

Chancellor Branson graduated from The University of Adelaide with a law degree in 1970, and rose to the ranks of Crown Solicitor of South Australia and Chief Executive of the Attorney-General’s Department at just 35 years old.

These appointments cemented her place in history as the first female Crown Solicitor in Australia and first woman to become permanent head of a government department of South Australia.

In 1992, Chancellor Branson was made a Queen’s Counsel, and just two years later became the second woman to be appointed to the Federal Court bench, where she served for 14 years.

Chancellor Branson retired from the bench in 2008 to become the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission and later the Human Rights Commissioner where she supported a federal charter of human rights, same-sex marriage, and opposed mandatory detention for asylum seekers.

Chancellor Branson joined The University of Adelaide Council in 2013, becoming Deputy Chancellor in 2017.

She was appointed the University’s 17th Chancellor in 2020 and is just the second female to hold the role after Dame Roma Mitchell.

Chancellor Branson has been reappointed to the position twice, and has been pivotal to the success of the University during the peak of the Covid pandemic – one of the most difficult times in the institution’s history - and has played an instrumental role in preserving and protecting the character and values of the University as it transformed into Adelaide University.

Emeritus Professor Reid has been a transformative leader in the higher education space for more than 40 years, as well as an advocate for equitable access to education.

After graduating from The University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Science in 1968, Emeritus Professor Reid began work as a tutor in the Department of Geology. She subsequently graduated from the University of Hawaii and Stanford University before joining the University of Sydney as a senior lecturer in 1978.

In 1991, Emeritus Professor Reid was promoted to Professor, and the following year she joined the Queensland University of Technology as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) in 1991.

Emeritus Professor Reid held the position of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Sydney for 16 years, spearheading a push to prioritise equitable access while positioning UWS as a major centre for research and innovation, and presiding over the establishment of the UWS School of Medicine.

During her career in the higher education sector, Emeritus Professor Reid served on numerous committees including the federal Higher Education Council and the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee, and was the Australian representative and Vice-Chair of the Governing Board of the OECD’s program on management in higher education.

She was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2015, and has also received recognition from the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.