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USC holds farewell event for retiring Dean
The University of the Sunshine Coast has held a special send-off for retiring Dean of the Faculty of Science, Health and Education Professor Rod Simpson.
More than 100 staff members gathered in the Chancellery building today (Wednesday 9 February) to bid a warm farewell to the man who has guided the fastest-growing faculty on campus since October 2001.
The event included speeches from Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill, Acting Dean Professor Brendan Burkett and other USC staff, along with a poem and a song and the presentation of numerous parting gifts.
Professor Simpson is an international expert on air pollution whose career highlights included participating in the 2005 review of the World Health Organisation Air Quality Guidelines.
His research work extends back to 1968, having previously worked at the University of Queensland, the CSIRO, Griffith University and the Australian National University.
In his farewell speech, Professor Simpson congratulated USC for having the courage to pursue its dreams, but said the dreams would not have become reality without the dedication and commitment of University staff.
He praised his faculty’s staff for the way they had handled a five-fold growth in the number of students over the past eight years.
Professor Simpson made special mention of the University’s research efforts, saying the quality of research at USC was right up there with the nation’s top institutions.
“I’ve done research with the best researchers in Australia, so I know that we are doing world-class research here and that we have world-class researchers,” he said.
“We are engaging with the region, being true to this region and doing what the region wants. There’s no way in the world that this uni does not have a great future if it stays true to its mission of serving the region.”
His send-off event was to be held in mid-December, but was postponed when Professor Simpson suffered a heart attack.
He said in his speech today that having such a health scare showed him how much of an impact USC was having in the community, as he was treated by USC graduates or students on work placements in the ambulance, at hospital and during his rehabilitation exercises.
“It really brought home to me what an impact that we are having, when I had my turn,” he said.
Professor Simpson said his retirement plans included spending more time working on his 17-acre property at Hunchy and continuing his work on sustainability.
— Terry Walsh