At the media launch of the UQ Art Museum’s Our Way, Contemporary Aboriginal Art from Lockhart River exhibition, May 2007
At the media launch of the UQ Art Museum’s Our Way, Contemporary Aboriginal Art from Lockhart River exhibition, May 2007

The cluster of new UQ research institutes and their impact on reversing the brain drain of scientific knowledge from Australia are often seen as the most significant legacy of Emeritus Professor John Hay’s 12 years as Vice-Chancellor – although his impact has been far broader, as these tributes from friends, associates and colleagues show.

1996

JANUARY: Emeritus Professor Hay begins appointment as Vice-Chancellor, succeeding Emeritus Professor Brian Wilson.

JUNE: Appointed to the Board of Brisbane Grammar School.

SEPTEMBER: UQ Senate approves a new seven-faculty academic structure from 1997 after Emeritus Professor Hay reports to Chancellor Sir Llew Edwards that UQ needs “flatter, leaner, more strategically responsive and effective structures, policies and practices.”

DECEMBER: Announces plans to develop an Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) at St Lucia. This will become the first in a series of world-class institutes to be built in Emeritus Professor Hay’s era, with funding from Chuck Feeney’s The Atlantic Philanthropies and UQ-leveraged Queensland Government Smart State monies and – in some cases – Australian Government funds. A major collaborative venture with CSIRO was also foreshadowed to complement the IMB proposal.

1997

MARCH: Commits UQ to membership of Universitas 21, a new international consortium of world-class researchintensive comprehensive universities. Only three Australian universities are admitted.

1998

MARCH: Begins nine-year appointment as Trustee of Queensland Performing Arts.

JULY: UQ is named the 1998 Australian University of the Year by the Good Universities Guide for outstanding outcomes for graduates. Emeritus Professor Hay becomes the only Vice-Chancellor to collect the prestigious award twice for his institution. He was Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University when it was named 1995 University of the Year.

1999 

 At the opening of the Equine Precinct at the Gatton campus
1999: At the opening of the Equine Precinct at the Gatton campus

JANUARY: Appointed Chair of National Committee on University Teaching and Staff Development.

FEBRUARY: Introduces the Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Grants for Early Career Researchers, providing between $50,000 and $100,000 for each recipient.

MARCH: Drives the concept for the new Brisbane Institute, of which UQ is the primary sponsor. The public issues forum aims to give Brisbane and Queensland a national centre for independent, non-partisan discussion of public issues.

AUGUST: Announces establishment of University of Queensland Foundation Research Excellence Awards to encourage early-career researchers.

OCTOBER: UQ Senate unanimously endorses Emeritus Professor Hay’s recommendations on the future of its Gatton campus, focusing on the teaching and research opportunities and challenges in the broad areas of rural industries and communities.

OCTOBER: UQ Senate unanimously votes to extend Professor Hay’s appointment to December 31, 2007.

NOVEMBER: Appointed as inaugural member of the Queensland Innovation Council.

2000

JANUARY: Appointed Chair of the Australian Universities Teaching Committee.

JUNE: Invested as National Living Pedagogue by the Swedish Academy for Higher Education.

JULY: Welcomes $10 million State Government funding in addition to $20 million pledged by UQ for the Sustainable Minerals Institute at St Lucia.

2001

JANUARY: Emeritus Professor Margaret Gardner begins as UQ’s first Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic). The creation of this position is part of a strategy which leads to UQ asserting sustained leadership in teaching and learning, dominating measures including the attainment of national teaching awards.

JANUARY: Appointed Chair of the Australian Universities Teaching Council.

JUNE: Queensland Gover nment announces establishment of a nanotechnology centre of excellence at UQ with $20 million of public funding (building on $17.4 million from The Atlantic Philanthropies).

SEPTEMBER: Volume 1 of the Bibliography of Australian Literature is published. Emeritus Professor Hay is General Editor of the four-volume record of all Australian novels, plays and books of poetry published in the last 200 years.

DECEMBER: Establishment of the Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at St Lucia is announced.

2002

JANUARY: Appointed Chair of the Group of Eight, which represents Australia’s leading research-intensive universities. He remains in the position until May 2003.

JULY: Plays key role in establishing a $33 million research complex which opens at Princess Alexandra Hospital as the new home for a UQ research group pioneering vaccines against cervical cancer and genital warts. Professor Ian Frazer heads the Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research (and in 2006 is named Australian of the Year for developing the world’s first cervical cancer vaccine).

SEPTEMBER: The $20 million multi-purpose UQ Centre building is opened at St Lucia to provide a modern venue for large events such as graduation ceremonies. Emeritus Professor Hay sources $11.5 million for the project from Atlantic Philanthropies.

2003

MAY: Appointed Chair of Universitas 21, a position he holds until May 2006.

MAY: Official opening of the $105 million Queensland Bioscience Precinct at St Lucia, housing the IMB and several CSIRO divisions.

AUGUST: Announces that the University has signed an in-principle agreement with the Brisbane City Council for a bus, bicycle and pedestrian bridge between Dutton Park and the St Lucia campus.

2004

JANUARY: Welcomes a $20 million State Government commitment for the establishment at St Lucia of the Queensland Brain Institute, which has $20 million in capital from The Atlantic Philanthropies.

JANUARY: Awarded a Companion in the Order of Australia (AC) in the Australia Day Honours List for exceptional services to higher education, especially in research and innovation and in the creation of new academic, research and administrative structures.

FEBRUARY: Volume II of Bibliography of Australian Literature is published.

APRIL: The James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre, created out of the former Mayne Hall, opens following a 12-month, $6.5 million transformation which was made possible by a $5 million contribution from The Atlantic Philanthropies. Emeritus Professor Hay is instrumental in the building’s rebirth as the new home of the UQ Art Museum.

JUNE: The Queensland Government announces initial funding of $9.5 million towards a Centre for Advanced Animal Sciences at the Gatton campus. Completion is scheduled for July 2008.

AUGUST: Appointed Chair of the Board of The Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.

2005

 

 In front of the new Sir James Foots Building with ex Premier Peter Beattie, Sir James and Chancellor Sir Llew Edwards
2005: In front of the new Sir James Foots Building with ex Premier Peter Beattie, Sir James and Chancellor Sir Llew Edwards

MARCH: Appointed to the Council of the National Library of Australia.

MARCH: Awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from his alma mater, the University of Western Australia.

JUNE: Appointed to the Board of the Brisbane Girls’ Grammar School.

2006

AUGUST: During a Queensland election campaign, the government makes a reelection pledge to invest $100 million in a Translational Research Institute at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. The facility will house UQ’s Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine, along with other Centres. Emeritus Professor Hay and Diamantina Director Professor Ian Frazer were instrumental in securing government support for the project.

SEPTEMBER: Announces construction ready to start on the $66 million UQ Centre for Clinical Research, funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, the Queensland Government and UQ. The building is due to open in January 2008.

OCTOBER: Premier Beattie opens the $70 million Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.

DECEMBER: Official opening of The Eleanor Schonell Bridge.

2007

MARCH: Announces UQ’s celebration of 2007 as a year of special focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues to mark the 40th anniversary of the referendum of May 27, 1967.

APRIL: Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Queensland University of Technology.

MAY: The Australian Government commits $100 million to match the Queensland Government’s funding for the Translational Research Institute at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

JUNE: Queensland Premier Peter Beattie makes Emeritus Professor Hay a “Queensland Great”, recognising that his lifetime achievements have played a significant role in the history and development of the “Smart State”.

JULY: Volume III of the Bibliography of Australian Literature published.

AUGUST: Appointed as Chair of the LH Martin Institute.

NOVEMBER: The $63 million Queensland Brain Institute, the $66 million UQ Centre for Clinical Research, and stage one of the $33 million Centre for Advanced Animal Science are all officially opened.

DECEMBER: Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by The University of Queensland.

DECEMBER: Appointed as Chair of the Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees.