2000s
I was recently appointed to a new senior position within the newly formed ICT Division at USQ and I was asked to speak to staff about my commitment to ensuring success within this new role. I started by telling the audience that I was born in 1960, was raised primarily in a small country town west of Toowoomba, commenced work at the then DDIAE in 1977 as a shy person from regional Australia, and that this possibly said a lot about me.
The campus then was a lot smaller, there were no houses bordering the grounds, only paddocks and looking back everyone seemed to know everyone. In 1977, personal computers were yet to be developed, staff used manual type-writers for correspondence and if you were really lucky you had an electric ibm typewriter with a correcting ribbon. People could communicate without the aid of mobile phones and other modern conveniences. Students studied on-campus, lectures started at 8.00am on a Monday morning and classes were timetabled to go into the evenings so that part-time students from the local community could also attend. In winter, Toowoomba was often cold, foggy, and misty.
I have been employed at DDIAE, UCSQ and more recently USQ since that time, I completed two degrees (one part-time and the other external) and as a result of various factors I was able to make a successful career at this institution that is on the verge of celebrating 40 years of successfully contributing in so many ways to individuals and community alike. Before I came to DDIAE to work, I was naïve and I didn't know that it existed, my family had no history of higher education.
As I was talking to the staff, I realised the importance of USQ to me and my family in shaping my career and providing me with access to the education, facilities and the talented staff (both academic and administrative) that have been here over the 40 year history.
I realised the difference this organisation could mean to other people like me, people who come from regional Australia and more recently from other cultures, the tremendous contribution that USQ makes to our various communities. I am one example of the success that USQ can provide but I am not alone.
Looking backwards, I realise that USQ would not have achieved the reputation and history that it currently enjoys without the contribution of so many individuals. There are many examples of innovation and breakthroughs that could only have been inspired at an organisation like DDIAE/USQ.
In the months ahead, as USQ celebrates our past, my hope is that USQ will continue to be able shape the lives of it's community members well into the future like it did for me, that USQ is more than just a University.