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The Power of Ten
4 February 2006
Almost a year ago we started to scope how we could celebrate our
tenth birthday. Initially we thought a short sharp week or so would
suffice. Then we got into a workshop with staff and students, and
it soon became obvious that we had far more to celebrate than could
be condensed into a few days.
It was decided to adopt the theme of the 'Power of Ten',
'celebrating our first and future decades'. Everyone was convinced
that we not only wanted to celebrate our succession of success
across our first decade, but also emphasise our commitment to
continuing that record of achievement into the future.
To celebrate on this scale the program is now going to span the
whole of 2006, and we are still accumulating good ideas, from all
sources, to develop a program that involves as many people within
and outside the University as possible.
We will build on existing events and ceremonies and accentuate
their significance around the 'Power of Ten'. The Graduation
Ceremony will be important in this respect.
We will also have specially constructed events with a sole focus
on 'The Power of Ten'. Later this month, for example, we will
officially launch the year with the release of a book recording our
history in beautiful photographs and words, titled '10'. We will be
distributing this attractive publication widely, so as to increase
its circulation and consequently our visibility, at no cost to
those who want a copy.
When discussing the 'Power of Ten' with all the University staff
on Wednesday, I emphasised the importance of the year to USC and
the need for widespread involvement.
The rationale for this plea was that higher education is
undergoing a period of major transformation. Competitiveness,
quality, relevance and efficiency are becoming even more important.
This year we will see more overseas universities operating in
Australia and privatisation continues apace. Many people have
welcomed this move to greater diversity and choice between
universities, but it is a trend that is Darwinian in its force, and
only the strongest and most innovative will thrive.
This scenario means that the roles of university staffs are
going to have to change, to adapt to this more competitive sectoral
environment.
There is little doubt that despite our relative youth, USC is
one of the best performing and most attractive universities in the
country, with not one other university approximating our 30 per
cent increase in student demand over last year. So we are faring
well.
If we can continue to innovate and support students and grow our
range of disciplines in the ways we have in our first decade, there
is no doubt that USC will become one of the most powerful
universities, in a beautiful physical context, into the
twenty-first century.
Hence the more attention we can draw to the 'Power of Ten',
unashamedly demonstrating our record of success and plans for
further success, the more chance we have of garnering the support
we continue to need to secure that future.
If you have ideas to add to our list on how we celebrate the
'Power of Ten', we'd love to hear from you.
Professor Paul Thomas is Vice-Chancellor of University of
the Sunshine Coast