James Cook University Investiture of Chancellor Ngiare Brown

Premier of Queensland and Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk MP; Minister for Resources, the Honourable Mr Scott Stewart MP; Members of Parliament; Mayors; James Cook University Chancellor Elect, Professor Ngiare Brown; Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Simon Biggs; Deputy Vice-Chancellors; Elders; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen. 

I begin by thanking Uncle Alfred Smallwood and William Mabo for honouring the Academic Procession with a smoking ceremony, and Professor Gracelyn Smallwood AM for her Welcome to Country on behalf of the Bindal People. 

I would also like to acknowledge the original custodians of the lands on which we gather, pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and extend my respects to all the First Nations people here today. The wisdom generated by the powerful Indigenous connection to ancient cultural traditions informs and educates us all. 

This afternoon we gather at the Bebegu Yumba1 Campus for a significant event in the life of James Cook University, with the investiture of Professor Ngiare Brown as its sixth Chancellor. 

Not only is Professor Brown this University’s first female Chancellor, but she is also the first Indigenous person to be appointed Chancellor of a university in our State.  I am incredibly proud to be here, as Governor—during National Reconciliation Week, on the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library Lawn—to witness such a momentous milestone in Queensland’s history. 

Professor Brown brings with her an impressive record of achievement, not only in her diverse professional career, but also in her unswerving dedication to improving the lives of Indigenous Australians, particularly children and adolescents.  

As Chancellor elect, Professor Brown has been entrusted to build on the legacy laid by those who have come before—whose cumulative efforts over the past 53 years have seen JCU grow to become an outstanding tertiary institution, which enjoys a well-deserved reputation for delivering world-class education and innovative research across four campuses, while remaining committed to the communities of Northern Australia and the Tropics it serves. 

We look to our universities to provide solutions to the big problems we face, and JCU is considered a thought-leader, particularly in the fields of marine and environmental science, climate change and tropical health and medicine.   

JCU is now ranked in the top 2% of universities worldwide and is number one in Australia for graduate full-time employment outcomes, but underpinning all that, is its pledge to be an integral supporter of its people and its places. 

I therefore take this opportunity to pay particular tribute to the former Chancellor, Mr Bill Tweddell, who has worked tirelessly—over the past seven years—to strengthen the core values of JCU as a tertiary institution that encourages excellence, but at the same time stands firmly for authenticity, integrity and respect.  

I applaud him for his steadfast commitment to promoting these values, and for leading the University through the challenges of COVID and into the strong position it enjoys today.  

Mr Tweddell and Professor Brown are both JCU alumni, and I am sure their long-standing links to this University provide unique insights that are of great benefit to the leadership role.  

I commend the James Cook University Council for electing Professor Brown as Chancellor, and am confident that her admirable determination, immense experience, and her credentials as a passionate advocate for positive change, will continue the University on its path of ensuring access to quality education for all.   

Chancellor, on behalf of all Queenslanders, I congratulate you on today’s Investiture and I wish you every success ahead.