Recognition for excellence in diversity and inclusion
In an award ceremony hosted on 17 November by the ANU Vice Chancellor, Professor Brian Schmidt, Associate Professor Nicole Haley of the Department of Pacific Affairs (DPA) at the Coral Bell School of Pacific Affairs, College of Asia and the Pacific was named as a 2021 finalist for the Clare Burton Award for Excellence in Equity and Diversity. Her nomination recognised her leadership in building Pacific-focused research, teaching and higher degree research programs based on the principles of inclusion and diversity since becoming head of the department in 2008.
The award nomination highlighted in particular Associate Professor Haley’s efforts in progressing long-term, sustainable strategies to overcome the structural educational disadvantages that researchers in the Pacific Island region face by building a pipeline for the development of research skills through a range of initiatives.
These include:
Pacific Research Fellowships and Pacific Visiting Fellowships;
In-house publications which seek out contributions from early career Pacific scholars;
Partnerships with local researchers for example on election observations in Papua New Guinea, Samoa and the Solomon Islands;
Establishing partnerships with key institutions such as the University of Papua New Guinea and the National University of Samoa.
The award nomination recognised Associate Professor Haley’s role in setting the vision, securing the funding and creating the environment and workplace culture which enables diversity and inclusion to thrive, noting that team members have been instrumental in implementing this approach. The nomination cited the diversification of DPA’s staff profile as testament to the success of this approach, which has seen the Department expand from five academic staff (4 men, 1 woman) to 21 academic staff (13 men, 8 women) and six professional staff (5 women, 1 man) over the last 15 years.