Hundreds graduated from burgeoning Catholic universities.
THE University of Notre Dame Australia’s Fremantle Campus, graduated over 816 students over December 13-14.
Four ceremonies were held over the two days with staff, family and friends and University supporters gathering to share in the graduands celebrations.
This year the university celebrated a significant milestone in its development when its first cohort of medical students graduated.
Seventy-four students successfully completed the graduate entry four year degree which has a key focus to graduate students who will practise in areas of unmet need.
Notre Dame’s School of Medicine is Western Australia’s second medical school.
A UNDA statement said that during their four years of study, its students not only undertook clinical experiences in WA’s metropolitan public and private hospitals but also completed extensive practical placements in regional hospitals and health centres as remote as WA’s Kimberley region and in WA’s southern town of Albany.
“This gave them first-hand experience living and working in rural communities,” the statement said.
Sydney UNDA campus marks its own big day
THE University of Notre Dame Australia’s Sydney Campus celebrated its inaugural graduation on December 17.
One hundred and twenty students from the Schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Nursing, and Philosophy and Theology graduated in front of over 500 family, staff and friends.
Nursing student Ruth Mychael was named the first Valedictorian for the Sydney Campus.
Executive Director of the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Catholic Education Office, Brother Kelvin Canavan, also received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the university.
Notre Dame’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Celia Hammond, said that as partakers in history, there is much reason to celebrate. “Graduation ceremonies are wonderful occasions in which students’ achievements are acknowledged and the academic culture of Notre Dame celebrated,” Prof Hammond said. “There is a sense of justified pride and satisfaction for all concerned, the graduates themselves, their families and friends and the Notre Dame staff. This year we have the extra joy of our first graduation on the Sydney Campus: an historic milestone for the University, and the culmination of years of planning and hard work. I congratulate the graduates on their fine achievement.”
The Sydney Campus opened in February 2006 with the foundation Schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Law, Nursing, and Philosophy and Theology. Since then the University has grown significantly, opening an additional site in Darlinghurst which accommodates the Schools of Medicine and Nursing.