Following the retirement of Professor Graham Sansom as Director of the Australian Centre for Excellence in Local Government (ACELG) and the UTS Centre for Local Government (UTS:CLG), Associate Professor Roberta Ryan has now been appointed to the role.
Associate Professor Ryan has extensive experience in the local government and tertiary sectors, most recently as a director of a major public policy and urban planning consultancy practice.
With academic experience in the field of social science and policy at UNSW and Macquarie University, Roberta has particular expertise in local government, city planning, citizen engagement and sustainability.
ACELG Chairperson, Margaret Reynolds said, “I am delighted to welcome Roberta to the role. The ACELG Board and I are very much looking forward to working with Roberta on the next phase of ACELG’s work in enhancing professionalism in Australian local government. Roberta’s combined industry and research background will be invaluable to the role of Director.”
UTS Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Professor Brungs said, “The depth of Roberta’s industry work, allied with her proven expertise in applied policy research, will assure the continuance of the high quality of work produced by ACELG and UTS:CLG. I am looking forward to welcoming Roberta to the broader university research community, who will also benefit from her experience.”
Roberta Ryan commented, “The establishment of ACELG in 2009 was significant for Australian local government and I greatly value the opportunity to contribute to the Centre’s endeavours and the research strengths of UTS.
“Likewise, the UTS Centre for Local Government has played an important role in training and development of local government professionals for over two decades now, and I am excited by the opportunity to build on the Centre’s impressive achievements.”
Both Professor Brungs and the Hon. Margaret Reynolds paid tribute to the outgoing Director, Professor Graham Sansom.
“Graham has made an outstanding contribution to local government and UTS over his distinguished career. UTS wishes him all the best for the next stage of his career,” said Professor Brungs.
Margaret Reynolds concluded: “The ACELG Board and I will dearly miss Graham, but he has left an extremely strong foundation for us to build upon over the coming years.”
