Thank you for a big 2024 from Engagement Australia

As the year nears its close, I’d like to take this opportunity to celebrate a big year at Engagement Australia (EA) and thank you for support and collaboration as I settled into the role of Chair.

It’s been a challenging year locally and globally, but I am inspired by the positive impact of the work we have done together. It’s impossible to list all of our 2024 highlights, but I’d like to share a handful that I have been reflecting on:

• We published Volume 8 of Transform, the Journal of Engaged Scholarship, themed The Universities Accord: Where to now for Community Engagement?, welcoming in Dr Matthew Pink as the new Editor in 2024.
• Congratulations to the inspiring 2024 Engagement Australia Excellence Awards winners, who were celebrated at a special gala dinner hosted by the University of Melbourne.
• EA’s Carnegie Community Engagement Network went from strength to strength, including a wide range of workshops and events. Congratulations to the Australian Catholic University and the University of Technology Sydney which became the first universities in Australia to receive the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.
• We held a one-day symposium, Enhancing Equity Outcomes through Structured Community Engagement, hosted at Australian Catholic University.
• Our previous Chair Prof. Jim Nyland and Professor David Davies released The Challenge of Change: Access and Opportunity in Mass Higher Education, available to read on the EA website.

All of these achievements have only been possible thanks to you. I’d especially like to thank our members for your continued collaboration; the eminent EA Board for their expertise and tireless commitment; Karen Daley for seamless operational support; and my predecessor, Professor Jim Nyland for his leadership over many years setting EA up for continued success.
Everyone has worked hard to support all members across Australia and New Zealand by championing the role universities play addressing contemporary global challenges through engaged teaching and research. I hope that you all have a happy and restful end of year with family and friends.

It’s great to serve as Chair of EA, surrounded by this community of passionate colleagues, and I look forward to working with you and for to make positive changes for our sector in 2025.

Prof. the Hon. Verity Firth

Chair, Engagement Australia