Bulletin

Issue: March/April 2007

Research in Action

New Director of Health Sciences at Bendigo

Dr Amanda Kenny has been appointed inaugural Director of Health Sciences at the Bendigo campus to help build the skills of the region’s healthcare workforce.

An Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, her role is to strengthen University - community partnerships and increase teaching programs and collaborative research.

Acting Dean of Health Sciences, Professor Hal Swerissen, said the new position was an exciting development for the region and added a new dimension of academic leadership.

Dr Kenny, a registered nurse for 20 years before embarking on an academic career, has a wealth of teaching, research, and clinical expertise. She has been a lecturer at the Bendigo campus since 2000 and was Head of the Bendigo School of Nursing from 2004 to 2007.

She will work with health agencies, local government and community representatives to strengthen health care opportunities and local services.

The new Oral Health degree and introduction of Physiotherapy at the Bendigo campus have been significant achievements for the region. The campus also offers unique programs including an Environmental Health stream in the Public Health and Nursing degrees and a nationally recognised Social Work degree.

Dr Kenny said ‘grassroots engagement’ was critical for developing health science programs to meet the needs of regional communities.

‘We need the people on the ground to let us know the issues they are facing.’ She has planned workshops to bring health representatives together to identify key areas where the University may assist healthcare research.

Dr Kenny is passionate about increasing opportunities for access to higher education, particularly for mature-aged people already working in healthcare.

‘I know from my own experience as a mother of four, working full-time and studying, how important it is to have access to strong local health education programs. I could not have achieved what I have, if I had to travel to Melbourne to study.’