CEO Announcement - Message from the President
Dear Colleagues
I am very pleased that my first duty as President is to advise that Margaret Clark has accepted our offer of the position of Chief Executive Officer of ACE. She will take up her appointment on Monday 18th January.
John Richards kindly agreed to extend his contract until then, to assist in a smooth transition. ACE has been fortunate to have had the benefit of his professionalism and wisdom in dealing with the challenges of the past six months.
Margaret has broad and extensive experience in education and education policy, and in immigration, indigenous and multicultural affairs. She is a professional educator by background, having among her qualifications a Graduate Diploma in Education and a Master of Education degree.
Her most recent appointment was as Executive Contract Officer, Policy, Planning and Review for the Northern Territory Department of Education and Training. In this position Margaret participated in the Productivity Agenda Working Group's (PAWG) negotiations under COAG (Council of Australian Governments). These negotiations resulted in the new National Education Agreement, the National Vocational Education and Training Agreement and the associated National Partnerships, including for Universal Access in the early years. Thus Margaret comes to ACE with a very comprehensive understanding of the Australian Government's education agenda and of the challenges and opportunities that are both present and still emerging for the education profession.
Margaret's particular interests are in education equity and quality issues. She is passionate about the importance of supporting education as a profession, responsible for developing , implementing and regulating its own standards. She would like to see the new work being undertaken on quality standards across all the education sectors to be developed with the active participation of the profession.
Margaret has also been a primary teacher, and university tutor and lecturer, and has worked as a consultant and researcher for government agencies and federal ministers for education.
I am looking forward very much to working with Margaret in furthering the objectives and plans of the College, especially in this new era of significant change in education at all levels nationally. Her background and expertise will be of great value to all of us.
I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the outstanding contribution to the College by my predecessor, Denise Bradley. I look forward to working with her in her role as Past President and with our new President-elect, Alan Reid.
A happy new year to all members of ACE as we make 2010 a year for working together to build on its proud heritage.
Lyndsay Connors
President ACE