Announcements and emails

Index of announcements and emails about the University's response to the earthquake and tsunami.

Email to alumni from Vice-Chancellor Glyn Davis, 3 February 2005

Dear Alumnus of the University of Melbourne,

It is unfortunate that my first communication with you is prompted by the devastating tsunami which struck east and south-east Asia on 26 December 2004. On behalf of the University, I hope you and your families are all safe and well.

The Melbourne community has responded strongly to the tragedy, and the University has announced a package of assistance for communities affected by the tsunami.

The University has a strong commitment to regional engagement and a close relationship with Asia through institutional partnerships, student and staff exchanges, development programs and a strong international student program.

Everyone at the University has been profoundly moved by the unprecedented damage caused to many communities in the Asian region.

We have contacted as many of our alumni in the tsunami-affected areas as possible and found they are safe. We have identified up to 60 current students who, according to their permanent home addresses, live in the vicinity of tsunami-affected areas. We know from a number of these students that they are safe but some have lost family homes. Our International Student Support staff are endeavouring to make personal contact with each of these students and where appropriate to handle requests for financial assistance.

The University is also monitoring the impact on staff and students who perhaps may have been holidaying or working in the area.

In these disastrous circumstances, the University must respond generously to the plight of these communities and we have given careful thought to how we can best do this - both at this time and in the longer term.

I write to let you know how your University is responding.

In the immediate term, the University has made a cash donation of $250,000 to the major aid agencies to assist with the humanitarian relief effort. This money will be allocated as follows: Red Cross $100,000; UNICEF $50,000; Oxfam $50,000; and CARE Australia $50,000.

We will also be providing $50,000 to Thailand’s Population Community Development Association (PDA) to support school lunch programs, the development of school lunch farms, and provide books for children in tsunami-affected villages in southern Thailand. The University already works with PDA, headed by one of our alumni Dr Mechai Viravaidya, in school lunch and scholarship programs in northern Thailand.

The University has arranged for staff to make donations through salary sacrifice to Tsunami relief appeals run by aid agencies working in tsunami-affected countries.

At the beginning of the academic year on 9 March, the University will hold a multi-faith commemorative service for the University community including alumni at 1.15 pm on the South Lawn on the Parkville campus.

We recognise that this longer-term engagement could involve substantial University resources - both staff and equipment over a number of years. It is for this reason that the University plans to set up another fund of $250,000 to be used over three years, for example, to support specific tsunami relief projects in which the University and its staff may become directly engaged.

Some University staff with useful, specific expertise are already on the ground in countries which suffered devastation. For instance, Professor Michael Leigh, head of the Melbourne Institute of Asian Languages and Societies, is monitoring the humanitarian assistance and political issues in Aceh, Indonesia for AUSAID; Dr John Langford from the Centre for Water Research is in Sri Lanka advising on restoration of clean water supplies; Professor Peter Deutschmann head of the Australian International Health Institute is assessing priorities for current and emerging needs in India; international mental health expert Professor Harry Minas has undertaken an assessment of the psychological needs of traumatised victims; and forensic odontologist, Professor John Clement has major responsibilities in forensic identification in Thailand and has been asked to advise on the future education and training of experts in scientific forensic human identification in Sri Lanka.

We have sought advice from key alumni in the affected countries and we are asking partner institutions in the region how we could work with them to provide expert assistance. Of course, we would welcome further advice from other alumni as we plan our longer-term response.

I would like to encourage you to visit the University’s tsunami website, accessed through the University home page http://www.unimelb.edu.au/ where regular updates on the University’s response will be posted.

Kind regards

Glyn Davis AC
Vice-Chancellor
3 February 2005