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Vice-Chancellor to present his magnum opus
Tonight’s public lecture by Professor Paul Thomas AM at the University of the Sunshine Coast will be, in many ways, a presentation of his magnum opus – his great work.
The University’s founding Vice-Chancellor will outline USC’s remarkable growth and development through difficult circumstances and its extensive contribution to the region’s economy, community life and preservation of the environment.
The free one-hour lecture at USC’s Lecture Theatre 7 in Building C at 7pm will be Professor Thomas’s last opportunity to highlight USC’s progress and potential before he retires early next month.
In 2007, Professor Thomas received his Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for establishing USC from scratch in 1994 and overseeing its growth from 524 to 5,000 students in the decade after it opened in 1996.
Since then, the University’s student population has climbed to above 7,300 (with 72 percent of students from the Sunshine Coast) and is well on track to reach 15,000 students by 2021.
At tonight’s public lecture, Professor Thomas will discuss USC’s objectives when it opened and provide a report card on how well the University has performed in promoting sustainable regional development, boosting the quality of life on the Sunshine Coast and reducing the “brain drain” to Brisbane.
He will launch a new booklet “University impacts on Sunshine Coast region” which outlines USC’s achievements.
— Terry Walsh