UTS community recognised in King’s Birthday honours

University of Technology Sydney (UTS) staff and community members have been recognised and celebrated for their service to the Australian community in the King's Birthday 2024 Honours list. 

UTS Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Andrew Parfitt congratulated the recipients of the King's Birthday Honours on their well-deserved recognition. 

“The King’s Birthday Honours highlight the outstanding achievements and contributions of UTS staff, alumni, and extended community across a broad range of fields, from Indigenous and environmental history to forensic science.

“It is inspiring to see the ongoing positive impact of UTS research and education, together with the crucial role of philanthropy, in delivering benefit to Australian society.”

Heather Goodall, Professor Emerita of History in the Faculty of Arts and Social Science, was awarded a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for “significant service to tertiary education, particularly social science, and to the Indigenous community.”

Professor Goodall is an eminent historian of Australian Indigenous history, environmental history, and colonialism and decolonisation in the eastern Indian Ocean. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and the NSW Royal Society.

Professor Goodall worked at UTS from 1989 to August 2014, when she became an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty. In 2015, Professor Goodall received the prestigious honorary title of Emeritus Professor from UTS for her outstanding internationally recognised research.
 

Mr Robert Kelly was awarded a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for significant service to tertiary education, to the law, and to medical administration.

Mr Kelly has a long association with UTS, dating back to the mid-1970s. He was appointed to the UTS Council in 2006, serving as Pro-Chancellor from 2010, and he retired in 2018, after reaching the maximum term.

He has had a long and illustrious career in law and business and has also contributed to Australia through his service with organisations such as the Law Council of Australia, the Law Society of NSW, the National Health and Medical Research Council and the NSW Medical Board.

Dr Laurie Cowled was awarded a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for “significant service to philanthropy in the arts, education and health sectors, and to women.”

Dr Cowled is a visionary philanthropist and advocate for equitable and inclusive access to education who established the Cowled Foundation in 2007 to assist the education of women from rural, regional, and Indigenous backgrounds.

She has had a profoundly positive impact at UTS, establishing the Laurie Cowled Scholarship, in 2007 (in perpetuity since 2010), the Laurie Cowled PhD Bursary for Indigenous female students and early and dedicated support for the UTS National First Nations College.

Dr Jodie Ward, UTS Adjunct Associate Professor in Forensic Science, has been awarded the Public Service Medal in recognition of her former leadership of the AFP’s National DNA Program for Unidentified and Missing Persons.  

Associate Professor Ward is an internationally recognised forensic human identification expert passionate about using an interdisciplinary forensic approach to identify unknown deceased persons, link them to known missing persons and provide answers to their families.

Dr Damien Stark was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for "service to medicine in the field of microbiology".

Dr Stark is a microbiologist and principal scientist at St Vincent’s hospital. He completed his Masters and PhD at UTS, looking at new diagnostic testing for parasitic infections.