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On the 100th anniversary of its establishment, the Convocation of UWA Graduates has elected a new leadership team to chart its future direction.

Graduates of The University of Western Australia, who by attaining their degree become members of Convocation, have elected Warren Kerr AM as the Warden of Convocation and Paul McCann AM as the Deputy Warden of the UWA graduates association.

Mr Kerr, a graduate in architecture from UWA, is now National Director of architecture and planning practice Hames Sharley.  As an architect, he has specialised in the design of hospitals and is a director of the architectural collaboration responsible for the design of the new Fiona Stanley Hospital and the State Rehabilitation Service.

Mr McCann is a former Air Force officer and now operations management executive, with 30 years experience in management for both government and private sectors, using the skills gained through his military career and studies in Science and the Executive MBA program at UWA.

Both share a commitment to the benefits that can be obtained through Convocation actively linking the efforts of graduates to enrich the intellectual and cultural prosperity of the WA community and ensure that the governance, teaching and research standards of UWA are maintained and enhanced.

"Over the past 100 years, the 100,000 graduates of UWA, have made a significant contribution to both the Western Australian, Australian and international community," Mr Kerr said.  "Our aim is for Convocation to build on this strong base by using modern governance arrangements and technical advantages in digital media to link these individual efforts for the common good of society and the University."

One of the first tasks of the new leadership team will be to review Convocation's strategic objectives to ensure they dovetail with the University's new strategic goals as it enters its second century.

"In its first 100 years, UWA has achieved an enviable reputation as one of the world's top 100 universities," Mr Kerr said.  "Convocation will continue to strongly support the aspirations of UWA to continue this progress by improving its educational, research and community engagement programs to become recognised as one of the top 50 universities in the world by 2050."

Convocation consists of all UWA graduates and holds four seats on the University's Senate.

Media references

Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 00 700 783