Supporters

What our supporters say about the College

Professor Tom Calma AO
_{Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia and Chancellor of the University of Canberra}

"It is innovative, appealing, needed, and it will be of benefit for students and society generally. It will be a beacon for Indigenous excellence and reconciliation."

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Mr Jake Duczynski
_Alumnus

"UTS is serious about Indigenous education, not to tick a box or flex a statistic or two but to enable change on our own terms, to close the gaping cultural gap, to celebrate the oldest living culture on Earth and to help craft the future of our identity. The National First Nations College would be the first of its kind, unlike anything seen before in this nation. An amalgamation of culture, narrative and interdisciplinary collaboration — redefining the means in which Indigenous identity is perceived by the world and, most importantly, ourselves."

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Mr Adam Goodes
_{Co-Founder, GO Foundation}

"Students who come to this college and have the benefit of getting a university degree, they’re going to be role models. Whether they know it or not, they’re leaders. They’re showing their siblings back home that going to university is the normal thing we do in our family."

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Ms June Oscar AO
_{Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission}

"The development of Australia’s first National First Nations College is exciting, and I commend UTS for its work on this project. Every effort must be made to make education more accessible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Providing a culturally supportive learning space that enables Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to succeed will open new pathways and opportunities for Indigenous students."

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Dr Stephen Page AO
_{Artistic Director, Bangarra Dance Theatre (UTS honorary doctorate)}

"UTS’s commitment to building on existing achievements by establishing a residential college heralds the beginning of a powerful social shift, long fought and long overdue. I absolutely support the impact your vision will have on the young individuals who will directly benefit from the new college, but I can also see how the wider Australian society will become a more equitable place because of it."

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Mr Craig Ritchie
_{Chief Executive Officer, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and Adjunct Professor, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, UTS}

"The College will help to provide an educational environment that celebrates Australia’s First peoples’ cultures and identities. I believe it will deliver transformative change in Indigenous participation and success in higher education."

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Ms Marlee Silva
_Alumna

"UTS’s demonstrated leadership and its ongoing public support of many Indigenous issues and projects, such as this college, shows that UTS is undoubtedly one of, if not the, most centrally committed universities in Australia to nurturing Indigenous culture and traditions, in order to promote the growth and prosperity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students."

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Ms Pat Turner AM
_{Chief Executive Officer, National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation}

"I believe the college is a strengths-based initiative and will be a highly valuable resource to Aboriginal students and our community as a whole."

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Other supporters include:

• Mr Roy Ah-See, former Chair, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council and former Co-Chair, Prime Minister’s Indigenous Advisory Council
• Mr Danny Allende, former Director, Aboriginal Pathways and Eora College, TAFE NSW
• Professor Ian Anderson AO, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student and University Experience), Australian National University and former Deputy Secretary (Indigenous Affairs), Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
• Associate Professor Jason Ardler, PSM FANZSOG, Associate Dean, Indigenous Strategy & Services, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney and former Chief Executive Officer, NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs
• Aurora Education Foundation
• Australian Indigenous Education Foundation
• Mr Ken Bedford, Board Member, Reconciliation Australia and former Board Member, Torres Strait Regional Authority
• Professor Gawaian Bodkin-Andrews, Director of Indigenous Research, Western Sydney University
• Professor Peter Buckskin PSM FACE, former Chair, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Consortium
• Career Trackers
• Senator Patrick Dodson, Senator for Western Australia, former Shadow Assistant Minister for Reconciliation, former Shadow Assistant Minister for Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians and former Shadow Assistant Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
• Professor John Evans, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Indigenous Engagement, Swinburne University, Member, UTS Vice-Chancellor's Indigenous Advisory Committee
• Professor Bronwyn Fredericks, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement), University of Queensland and Chair of Universities Australia's Deputy and Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Committee
• Mr Jason Glanville, former Executive Director, Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity
• GO Foundation
• Dr Leanne Holt, Chair, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Consortium
• Dr Jackie Huggins, former Co-Chair, National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
• Aunty Norma Ingram, Community Elder and Leader, and former Labor candidate for Newtown, 2019
• Professor Christopher Lawrence, Dean, Indigenous Engagement, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Curtin University
• Mr Rod Little, former Co-Chair, National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
• Professor Janet Mooney, Institute for Positive Psychology & Education, Australian Catholic University and Member, UTS Vice‑Chancellor’s Indigenous Advisory Committee
• Mr Nathan Moran, Chief Executive Officer, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and Member, UTS Vice-Chancellor's Indigenous Advisory Committee
• Professor Bob Morgan AO, Senior Indigenous Academic, University of Newcastle, Founding Director of Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, UTS and former Member, UTS Vice‑Chancellor’s Indigenous Advisory Committee
• Professor Susan Page, Director of Indigenous Learning and Teaching, Western Sydney University
• Mr Aden Ridgeway, former Member, UTS Council and former Democrats Senator
• Professor Mark Rose, Pro Vice‑Chancellor, Indigenous Strategy and Innovation, Deakin University, Vice President, Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated, Chair, UTS Vice‑Chancellor’s Indigenous Advisory Committee and former Chair, Batchelor Institute Northern Territory
• Professor Chris Sarra, Director-General, Queensland Department of Seniors, Disability Services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and former Co-Chair, Prime Minister’s Indigenous Advisory Council
• Professor Michelle Trudgett, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Indigenous Leadership, Western Sydney University and Deputy Chair, Universities Australia Deputy Vice‑Chancellor/Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous) Committee
• Councillor Yvonne Weldon AM, City of Sydney, Deputy Chairperson, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and Deputy Chair, New South Wales Australia Day Council 
• The Hon. Ken Wyatt, former Minister for Indigenous Australians

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UTS Indigenous Professoriate and Indigenous Senior Leadership

• Dr Berice Anning, Manager, Indigenous Employment, Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement)
• Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO, Laureate Fellow, Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement)
• Associate Professor Pauline Clague, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research
• Professor Lindon Coombes, Director, Jumbunna Research, Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research
• Professor Jason De Santolo, Associate Dean (Indigenous Research), Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement), Director of Indigenous Research, UTS Business School
• Associate Professor Anne-Marie Eades, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health
• Associate Professor Annette Gainsford, Associate Dean (Indigenous Teaching and Learning), Office of the Pro Vice‑Chancellor (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement)
• Ms Maree Graham, Director, Indigenous Students and Community Engagement, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research
• Associate Professor Paul Gray, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research
• Professor Christopher Matthews, Associate Dean (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement), Faculty of Science
• Professor Michael McDaniel AO FRSN, Special Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor for Major Indigenous Priorities
• Professor Faye McMillan AM, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health
• Professor Heidi Norman, Associate Dean (Indigenous), Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
• Professor Alison Page, Associate Dean (Indigenous), Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
• Professor Robynne Quiggin, Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement) and Executive Director, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research
• Professor Daryle Rigney, Director of Indigenous Nations and Collaborative Futures Research, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research
• Professor Juanita Sherwood, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, Professor of Decolonisation in Health Education and Research, Charles Darwin University and former Pro Vice Chancellor, First Nations Engagement, Charles Sturt University
• Aunty Glendra Stubbs OAM, Elder in Residence, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research
• Professor Brett Turner, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
• Associate Professor Nicole Watson, Faculty of Law
• Professor Megan Williams, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health
• Professor Nareen Young, Associate Dean (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement), UTS Business School

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