Dean's update, April 2014

We have some very exciting news in store for this edition of Articulation.

Since the last newsletter, we have welcomed new cohorts of undergraduate, graduate coursework and research students to the Faculty to join around 7000 of their peers undertaking study across a diverse range of humanities and social sciences disciplines.

Many of these students will benefit from our new signature teaching and learning space, the William Macmahon Ball Theatre in the Old Arts Building, which was launched earlier this year. Named for University of Melbourne alumnus William Macmahon Ball (1901-1986), a prominent professor of political science, diplomat, author and journalist, this purpose-built theatre in the round is designed to facilitate participatory educational experiences.

I also am thrilled to announce that the University of Melbourne has welcomed a major philanthropic gift of $6.9 million to support the practice and teaching of art conservation in the Faculty. The gift is believed to be the world's largest-ever in support of this field, and was pledged by the Cripps Foundation to support a Chair of Cultural Materials Conservation and create a new, state-of-the-art teaching and research facility that will become the leading centre in Australia for the conservation and preservation of significant works of art.

The Faculty is also a partner in a new $28 million Australian Research Council funded Centre for Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, involving researchers from the School of Languages and Linguistics. The Centre will have a particular focus on Indigenous languages across the Asia Pacific Region, which will be informed by our Research Unit for Indigenous Language.

I wish you all an enriching Easter break and look forward to sharing more great news from the Faculty in the next edition of Articulation.

Professor Mark Considine
Dean, Faculty of Arts