UNE Distance Education Pioneer Passes

August 21, 2007

One of the University of New England’s founding members and former Senior Lecturer of Botany, Robert Boyd, passed away earlier this month.

Born at Scotby, a semi-rural village in Cumberland , England, Robert was the eldest of five children of Charles, a gardener, and Gertrude, both of whom instilled the strong values of caring for others and personal integrity that stayed with him for life.

Robert shone at Grammar School in Carlisle, taking his Oxford School Certificate in 1939. His scientific interests were developing: he joined the dye-room staff of Ferguson’s fabric mill where he became fascinated by chemistry, especially the process of combining and fixing dyes.

Post-World War II he took degrees from the third oldest English University, Durham, and the oldest, Oxford. He graduated from Durham University holding a Bachelor of Science with Honours, specialising in plant physiology, then went to Oxford for postgraduate studies.

Meanwhile in a library, Robert met Joan Heeley-Creed, a fellow Cumbrian and student. They walked the fells of the Lake District and an abiding love arose that sustained them as life-partners for 53 years. Joan and Robert married in February 1954 then embarked on a new life in Australia.

Robert applied for a lectureship at the New England University College in Armidale. By May 1954, when he and Joan arrived, the College had become the University of New England (UNE). He joined Dr Gwenda Davis in the fledgling Botany Department. They were foundation members of the strong group of scholars, technical staff and students who coalesced around Professor N.C.W. Beadle, who arrived in 1955.

The University planned to start teaching by distance education in the Faculty of Arts in 1957. Few scientists believed this mode of teaching would be successful in science, but Robert was optimistic. He played a major role in designing course structures and preparing written material, up until his retirement in 1983.

His knowledge of botanical literature and his selection of interesting and challenging material suited to mature-age students were critical for this venture. The external teaching was an instant success and the class quotas for the Plant Biology units (limited by the size of laboratories for the residential schools) were filled for many years to come. So successful was distance education in biology that it was extended to other sciences, to the full range of science degrees now offered by this University, and was a model copied elsewhere.

In the 1960s Robert researched tree mortality in New England and recognised the complexity of its causes, including pasture management. This proved invaluable as “eucalypt dieback” became a landscape-wide problem in the 1970s: he helped landholders along with scientists to think of possible solutions.

Robert is survived by his wife Joan and their two children, Stephen and Kate.

Posted by lcreedy at August 21, 2007 04:17 PM