This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) |
Paul Thomas | |
---|---|
Founding Vice-Chancellor and President University of the Sunshine Coast | |
In office 1996–2010 | |
Succeeded by | Professor Greg Hill |
Personal details | |
Born | 1941 (age 82–83) |
Alma mater | University of Wales Loughborough University University of Queensland |
Inaugural chairman | |
---|---|
Chair of the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Board | |
In office 2012–present | |
Paul Thomas AM (born 1941) is the founding Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of the Sunshine Coast.
From March 1994 to December 1995,Thomas was the Planning President of the university,then named the Sunshine Coast University College. In 1996,he became the inaugural Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Sunshine Coast. He retired from office in 2010.
In May 2012,the Minister for Health of Queensland Lawrence Springborg announced that Thomas had been appointed Chair of the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Board. [1] This new role involves the new Sunshine Coast University Hospital in which the Queensland Government is investing $2.03 billion. [2]
Thomas received undergraduate degrees from the University of Wales,Aberystwyth and a research MA (Master of Arts) from Loughborough University before coming to Australia in 1976. At the University of Queensland,Brisbane,he received a PhD. [3]
Thomas occupied senior posts in the British higher education system before taking up a position as Head of Education at Kelvin Grove Campus of Brisbane College of Advanced Education (later Queensland University of Technology). [4]
From March 1994 to December 1995,Thomas was the Planning President for Australia's newest public university,University of the Sunshine Coast. In the early planning stages,Thomas operated out of the boot of his car when he consulted with Sunshine Coast community groups and businesses. [5] Thomas has been interviewed and presented on planning and designing university campuses. [6]
In 1996,Thomas became the inaugural Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Sunshine Coast. The university then only had 524 students,two buildings and a choice of two degrees. Under his tenure and 15 years later,the university today has more than 7,000 students,16 buildings and more than 100 undergraduate and postgraduate study programs. [7] [8]
During Thomas's term as Vice-Chancellor,the University of the Sunshine Coast developed an art collection of contemporary Australian art with an emphasis on Queensland artists including indigenous artists. [9] [10]
Thomas also initiated a $2.1 million Olympic-size swimming pool which opened in late 2011. This is used for training by elite athletes as well as for community use. [11] [12]
Thomas was also the chairman of the board of directors at the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast through all stages of its development. [13]
In March 2010,the University of the Sunshine Coast received its sixth consecutive Employer of Choice For Women citation. These citations are awarded annually by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency in recognition of efforts to increase the representation of women at senior staff levels and to help staff maintain work-life balance. [14]
Thomas is currently a member of the National Leadership Institute Advisory Board, [15] made up of Australian experts from academia,government and industry. [16]
On 18 May 2012,Thomas was appointed Inaugural Chair of the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Board by the Minister for Health of Queensland,Lawrence Springborg. He will be involved in the new $2.03 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital (SCUH) which is scheduled to open in 2016. [17]
In 2002,Thomas was awarded a Centenary Medal for services to Australian society through higher education and university administration. [18]
On Australia Day 2007,Thomas was given the Order of Australia for service to higher education,particularly through the development and administration of the University of the Sunshine Coast,and to the establishment of educational links with China and Japan. [19]
In 2009,Thomas was the recipient of the Asia-Pacific Chief Executive Leadership Award by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). He is the first Vice-Chancellor of any Australian university to be recognised in this way by CASE,which annually presents leadership awards in eight districts throughout the United States and Canada,as well as in Europe and the Asia-Pacific. [20] CASE President John Lippincott hosted the presentation ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on 25 March 2009. Lippincott praised Thomas for his pioneering leadership and for developing a culture of philanthropy through exemplary regional engagement. [21]
In 2011,Thomas became the first Emeritus Professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast. [22]
No academic institution I've ever been associated with has meant more to me than USC does. To be formally linked with the University in this way is a great honour, and even more so because it's the first Emeritus Professorship from USC to be awarded. – Professor Paul Thomas AM [22]
In addition, Thomas is:
In 2013 a photographic exhibition titled Paul Thomas AM: Images of Vietnam was opened displaying 56 photographs of markets, fishing boats, scenery and street life Thomas captured during his 2012 trip to Vietnam. [24] [25]
The University of Queensland is a public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone universities, an informal designation of the oldest university in each state. UQ is also a founding member of edX, Australia's leading Group of Eight and the international research-intensive Association of Pacific Rim Universities.
Southern Cross University (SCU) is an Australian public university, with campuses at Lismore and Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, and at Coolangatta, the most southern suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland. In 2019, it was ranked in the top 100 young universities in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Nambour is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Nambour had a population of 12,145 people.
Central Queensland University is an Australian public university based in central Queensland. CQUniversity is the only Australian university with a campus presence in every mainland state. Its main campus is at Norman Gardens in Rockhampton, however, it also has campuses in Adelaide (Wayville), Brisbane, Bundaberg (Branyan), Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Melbourne, Noosa, Perth, Rockhampton City, Sydney and Townsville. CQUniversity also partners with university centres in several regional areas across Australia.
Lawrence James Springborg is an Australian politician. He led the National Party in the Queensland Parliament from 2003 to 2006 and again in 2008, before becoming the first leader of the merged Liberal National Party from 2008 to 2009. He led the LNP again from 2015 to 2016 before announcing his retirement. He currently serves as Mayor of Goondiwindi Regional Council, having been elected in March 2020.
The University of the Sunshine Coast is a public university based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. After opening with 524 students in 1996 as the Sunshine Coast University College, it was later renamed the University of the Sunshine Coast in 1999.
Bond University is Australia's first private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its founding on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teaching-focused higher education institution featuring a three-semester-per-year timetable.
Queensland Health is the name of the overall public health service in the state of Queensland, Australia. The system is made up of 16 Hospital and Health Services (HHS'), and the Queensland Department of Health. Each HHS covers a certain geographical area of Queensland, with the exception of the state-wide service, Children's Health Queensland, and operates health facilities and other services. The Department of Health is responsible for the management and performance of the system, and support services like finance, centralised supply and procurement, HR, and IT services. Most HHS' also have associated foundations and authorities, which provide additional support.
An election was held in the Australian state of Queensland on 9 September 2006 to elect the 89 members of the state's Legislative Assembly, after being announced by Premier Peter Beattie on 15 August 2006.
Ian William Chubb is an Australian neuroscientist and academic, who was the Chief Scientist of Australia from 23 May 2011 to 22 January 2016.
John-Paul Honoré Langbroek is an Australian politician who has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland representing the centre-right Liberal Party and its successor, the centre-right Liberal National Party, in the seat of Surfers Paradise since 2004. He was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the LNP from 2009 to 2011—the first person from the Liberal side of the merger to hold the post. He was a minister in the Newman government before its defeat at the 2015 state election.
Mark Francis McArdle is an Australian politician and former Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Queensland. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland between 2004 and 2020, representing the electorate of Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. Initially a Liberal Party member, in 2007 he became the party leader and the following year oversaw a merger with the National Party that produced the Liberal National Party.
Sippy Downs is a suburb of Buderim in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Sippy Downs had a population of 11,544 people.
The Sunshine Coast Region is a local government area located in the Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia.
Robert Dennis Gibson is a British-born Australian academic and mathematician.
Owen Peter Coaldrake is an Australian academic and higher education administrator. He served as Vice-Chancellor of the Queensland University of Technology between 2003 and 2017.
Steven James Minnikin is an Australian Liberal National politician who is currently serving as the member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland for Chatsworth, having defeated Steve Kilburn at the 2012 state election.
The Sunshine Coast University Hospital is a hospital on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is affiliated with the University of the Sunshine Coast and Griffith University.
Timothy Vincent Fairfax is an Australian philanthropist, pastoralist and a member of the Fairfax family. He leads a charitable foundation called the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation, created in 2008.