Vice-Chancellor's Award for Reconciliation

Nominations for this award are open from Monday 9 June 2025 and close on Friday 5 September 2025. Please complete the nomination form and email to awards@anu.edu.au by 5pm, Friday 5 September 2025. 

Purpose

This award aims to encourage and recognise ANU staff members for initiatives and activities that support the pursuit of reconciliation, within the University or beyond.

At ANU, reconciliation is a whole-of-university effort. We are proud to be on a journey in pursuit of strengthened relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all members of our community and the nation.

The University’s vision is to be a place that respects and values diversity: a place where all people come together to engage with their chosen disciplines or service areas in culturally rich environments.

Thus we seek to embed reconciliation into our teaching, research, engagement, core business practices, and decision making at all levels.

Criteria

Nominations will be evaluated based on demonstrated outstanding achievements in advancing reconciliation and supporting the objectives outline in the University’s Reconciliation Action Plan.

Recognised achievements are not limited to contributions within the ANU community; they may also include reconciliation efforts undertaken by ANU staff beyond the University.

Contributions may have been delivered through a specific initiative or through sustained efforts over time while employed at ANU. There is no requirement for achievements to have occurred within a specific timeframe.

Eligibility

Staff who are undertaking outstanding work in relation to reconciliation in Australia, across a range of communities or groups, are eligible to be nominated for this award where they meet the following conditions:

· Nominees must be employed by the University (on payroll) in the year of the award.

· Nominees can be non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

· Nominees can be an individual or a team.

· Where nominees are a team, the team can include current students (in the year of the award).

Nomination process

Nominations must be received no later than 5pm on the advertised closing date. Nominations need the endorsement of the relevant College Dean/Director before submission.

Nominations should be prepared by Sponsors, that is, a supervisor or other person within the University. Sponsors should specifically address the award criteria, provide examples to support their claims, and note that additional references are not permitted. Additional paperwork will not be considered by the Committee.

Colleges and Service Divisions may choose to set up a committee to ensure that staff who warrant consideration of an award are not overlooked.

Sponsors should note that the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards recognise excellence in achievement and contribution that exceeds the normal expectations of the work undertaken by individuals and teams. The selection committee will consider the academic or professional level and consider their access to opportunity when making their evaluation.

Awards process

Award finalists and sponsors will be contacted once the Committee has made a determination but recipients will not be announced until the presentation of the award.

The award will be presented during or around the time of National Reconciliation Week. The recipient of this award will be invited to present on their work that won them the award.

All award recipients will be published on the Vice-Chancellor’s Annual Awards webpage.

In the case of team awards, the team will receive one award, presented to the Team Lead (as specified on the nomination form).

Recipients

2024 – Steven Roberts (Dean, College of Business and Economics)

2023 Olivia Evans and Junwen Chen (Research School of Psychology, College of Health and Medicine)

2022 – not awarded this year to shift from 2023 onwards to be a stand-alone Vice-Chancellor’s Award to be recognised closer to Reconciliation Week each year

2021 – Jill Guthrie, Lisa Whop, Tamara Riley, Ray Lovet, Roxanne Jones, Maeve Powell, Peter Yu (Indigenous Specialist Liaison Team)

2020 – Azure Hermes (College of Health and Medicine)

2019 – National Indigenous Summer School Organising Committee

2018 – Amanda Stuart, Heike Qualitz, Amelia Zaraftis (School of Art and Design, The Balawan Elective Team)

2017 – Mary Spiers Williams (College of Asia and the Pacific)

2016 – Jessica Ford (College of Asia and the Pacific) and Raymond Lovett (College of Health and Medicine)

Further information

For further information please contact awards@anu.edu.au

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