Internationally renowned actor, director and dramatist Bille Brown will receive an honorary Doctor of Letters degree at a University of Queensland graduation ceremony tonight, Tuesday, August 21.
The award recognises his distinguished career and his outstanding national and international contribution to the theatre.
An Adjunct Professor at the University since 1999, he will address 200 graduands from the Arts and Social and Behavioural Sciences Faculties at the 6pm ceremony at Mayne Hall, St Lucia.
The graduation ceremony is the first of three ceremonies to be held this week, with another two ceremonies for a further 500 graduands on Thursday, August 23 at 6pm and 8.15pm
Bille Brown traces his career from his 1969 enrolment as a University of Queensland arts student. Initially he read plays, poems and set texts on Thursday afternoons in the Abel Smith lecture theatre and on stage at the Avalon Theatre. Later he appeared at the Schonell in plays and University Revues.
He made his professional debut with Queensland Theatre Company (QTC) in 1971 but continued studying, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree and Diploma of Education in 1973.
He has lived and worked extensively in Australia, the USA and England, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company playing in Stratford, London and throughout Europe. He now lives permanently in Australia.
Valedictorian will be Bachelor of Education graduand Debbie Ernst.
Other points of interest at this ceremony include the following.
• Anne Maree Dowd and Craig Daniells will create history as being among the first UQ Ipswich graduates when they collect their Bachelor of Business Communication degrees.
Anne Maree Dowd (telephone 0418 757 223 or 3271 2208 or 3381 1038), of Forest Lake, joined the program in mid-1999, six months after UQ Ipswich opened, after two years study for an economics degree at St Lucia had given her a taste for management and communication as a career.
"I'd been watching the new subject at UQ Ipswich develop and I just knew it was for me," she said. "It was going in the direction I wanted to go, the flexible learning approach really appealed. My instincts turned out to be right. Though the students had already formed a very close group after six months together, they welcomed me and I found the interactive approach encouraged all of us to develop and express our own opinions. It really gave me a chance to shine individually. And I loved the UQ Ipswich campus. Public transport is no problem and there are heaps of resources - you never have to line up for the computers."
Anne Maree has been working part-time as a tutor and research assistant at the University while completing her degree and is now considering an honours year. She was contracted over one vacation to write facilitators' guides for all four introductory subjects in the business communications program - a job she attributes to the skills she developed in working interactively in class.
Craig Daniells, of Ipswich, studied business management at St Lucia in 1997 then switched to a dual degree in business communication and arts media studies in 1998 before becoming one of the first Bachelor of Business Communication students at UQ Ipswich in 1999.
Craig says the fact that he lives in Ipswich made UQ Ipswich a convenient choice - but not a determining factor.
"I was drawn to the innovative ways of learning and I liked the environment," Craig said. "It's been much more personalised than the large lectures I'd been used to, and the content was much more focused. I want to go into public relations and the program was extremely good training for that. It's given me a rounded picture, a real insight into things.
"I've especially enjoyed the positive environment here and I've made a lot of good friends with both students and lecturers. It's been like joining a big friendly family."
• About 50 years in age separate two family members who coincidentally will graduate Bachelor of Arts at the same ceremony. Retired anaesthetist Dr Ken Wilson, 73 (telephone 3848 2122), majored in ancient history and English and is now studying Latin as a prerequisite for honours in ancient Roman history. His grandson Pat Wilson, 20 (telephone 3206 6167 or 0409 585 509), will receive an Arts degree majoring in journalism. Pat is presently studying law to complete a dual Arts/Law degree with plans for a career in law.
Media: For further information, contact Moya Pennell at UQ Communications (telephone 3365 2846).
