Star staff

Dr Valerie Braithwaite
Director, Centre for Tax System Integrity
Award: Vice-Chancellor's Award for Career Achievement

"I started at ANU in 1978. Now, I am a researcher in the RegNet Program at the Research School of Social Sciences. I work on issues relating to the way in which people make sense of and respond to regulation.

The thing I enjoy most about my work is the intellectual variety and the challenge of crossing different fields of regulation and trying to build theory around such empirical diversity.

Receiving the Vice-Chancellor’s Award For Career Achievement recognises the kinds of intellectual communities that I have always been drawn to at ANU, where people are working together to build something new and are promoting the next generation of scholars to carry the ideas forward in different directions. I have benefitted from such support from my colleagues.

I hope I now am contributing to creating similarly ambitious forward-looking research agendas that are collectively shared and pursued with generosity and much good humour."

Dr Simon Bain
Executive Officer, ANU Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee (AEEC)
Award: Vice-Chancellor's Award for Innovation and Excellence in Service Quality

"The AEEC ensures the ethical and humane care of animals used for scientific purposes at ANU. I'm involved with a meeting secretarial function, veterinary advice, monitoring of studies, facilities inspections, procedural advice to investigators, and animal ethics education.

While reviewing applications to use animals for scientific purposes, one appreciates the high quality of science here, in both biomedical and wildlife studies. I also enjoy working with the rest of the committee, who are volunteers. Their contribution is considerable.
Finally, I enjoy striving to ensure that we meet high animal welfare standards. 

Animal ethics operates within a tight legislative framework and makes demands upon researchers.  Therefore, one rarely gets accolades, and to be honest you don’t expect them. This has been a great boost, but it is also recognition of the work that the AEEC and other ethics committees do in contributing to research integrity at ANU."

Judy Harrison
Lecturer, Legal Workshop, Faculty of Law
Award: Vice-Chancellor's Award for Community Outreach

"Since 1995, I have been teaching legal practice on campus, by distance and interstate for the Legal Workshop and clinical (live client) programs in the law degree.

At the same time I do consulting and volunteer work usually involving law reform, legal service strengthening, and helping with things I feel strongly about. I try to cycle back to legal practice for a while every few years.

I like working with students because every one of them has the potential to make a difference. I also like the variation in my work and opportunities to contribute in different ways and in different places. For example, this year, I’ve taught in Canberra and in Darwin and done projects in Fiji and the Orana (far west of NSW).

I think ANU is all about service to the community, whether through teaching, research or in other ways. I like the fact that the ANU values and wants to encourage community outreach among its staff. The award meant that I could direct $1,000 to a non-profit organisation and that has gone to a Canberra non-profit that assists numerous other community organisations."

Monica Murphy
Human Resources Officer, Research School of Earth Sciences
Award: Equity and Diversity Certificate

"I commenced work at the University in 1996 and have been at RSES since 2002. I currently hold the position of Human Resources Officer at RSES and am responsible for all facets of HR within the school, for both academic and general staff.  This includes all tasks from recruitment through to termination. I am also the RSES representative on the College of Science HR Functional Group, which aims to examine and streamline HR administrative processes.

I most enjoy working with a fantastic administrative team, which makes coming to work a pleasure.
As the first point of contact for HR matters I enjoy my daily interactions with all academic and general staff within the school.

It was a great honour to be recognised for work that supports staff development and initiatives and promotes Equal Employment Opportunity and diversity principles at the University."

Judy Harrison leads a session at the Legal Workshop.