Notre Dame Announces Appointment of New Vice Chancellor

The Acting Chancellor of The University of Notre Dame Australia, Dr Michael Quinlan, announced today the appointment of Professor Celia Hammond as its third Vice Chancellor. Professor Celia Hammond succeeds Dr Peter Tannock, who retires on 31 July 2008 after 16 years in the position. She has been appointed for an initial term of five years. Professor Hammond currently holds the position of Deputy Vice Chancellor at Notre Dame with direct responsibility for managing and overseeing the University’s 6,000 student Fremantle Campus. Professor Hammond is a legal practitioner with experience in private practice in Western Australia. She has held senior leadership, management and teaching positions at Notre Dame, where she has been a staff member for over ten years. She was Head of the University’s School of Law, and served as the University’s General Counsel, Executive Director of the Vice Chancellery, and Assistant Provost. She has wide experience teaching in commercial law and has published in the areas of corporate, property, and insolvency law. She also has experience in industrial relations policy and practice, and in public policy relating to higher education in Australia. Professor Hammond is 39 years of age. She is married and the mother of three boys. She was appointed, following an international search process, with the unanimous approval of the University’s Board of Directors and its Trustees. Her appointment has been endorsed by the Archbishops of Perth and of Sydney, and the Bishop of Broome, in whose dioceses the University operates its campuses. The retiring Vice Chancellor, Dr Peter Tannock, said that in Professor Hammond the University had found a person of outstanding quality with a deep understanding of, and commitment to, Notre Dame and its Objects. He said, “Celia Hammond is a young woman of exceptional ability and experience who will be strongly supported by the entire Notre Dame community in leading and managing this unique Australian university, and in taking it to the next stage of its development.” Dr Quinlan also paid tribute to Dr Peter Tannock for his extraordinary achievement in guiding the University from its planning stage to its present highly acknowledged place in the Australian tertiary education system. “Peter Tannock’s contribution to education in Australia is unparalleled. He has played a leading role for over forty years, including serving as Chairman of the Commonwealth Schools’ Commission, Director of Catholic Education in Western Australia and Chairman of the National Catholic Education Commission. “Throughout his career he has been a wonderful visionary who has the rare ability to be able to turn his visions into reality. The University is indebted to him for his great work and legacy,” said Dr Quinlan. Media contact: Michelle Ebbs 08 9433 0610, 0408 959 13