Farewell dinner for Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Meredith

November 09, 2007

UNE Partnerships hosted a farewell dinner for Emeritus Professor Geoffrey G. Meredith AM at "Booloominbah", University of New England, after a lifetime dedicated to education. Professor Meredith (pictured here) retired as Academic Director of UNE Partnerships' Professional Practice Manager Development Program, which he has been instrumental in developing over the past 20 years.

In 1967, Professor Meredith and his family moved to Armidale, where he became Professor of Accounting and Financial Management at UNE and founded the Financial Management Research Centre, specifically for small business.

During his time at UNE, Professor Meredith was involved in delivering workshops on small business management and professional practice management through the Department of Continuing Education (DCE). The DCE bridged the gap between the academic expertise of the University and the needs of the community at large through continuing education. This provided a new level of training for professionals in the small business sector in setting benchmarks to improve efficiency in the workplace.

Professor Meredith's special area of interest was healthcare practice management, and in 1987 an alliance was formed with the Australian Association of Practice Managers to identify the specific training needs of practice managers. From this the Professional Practice Manager Program was launched. This program became the foundation for identifying practice management as a profession in its own right.

In 1990, Professor Meredith moved to Lismore to become Director of Graduate Studies and Research in the School of Business and Computing Studies at UNE Northern Rivers (later to become Southern Cross University), as well as Director of the Centre for Australian Regional and Enterprise Development.

In 1997, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to tertiary business education and the development of small enterprise in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. This represented a lifetime's commitment to designing and delivering training for the small business sector.

Professor Meredith holds Bachelor of Economics and Master of Commerce degrees and a Doctorate from the University of Queensland. He is a Life Member of the Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand, which he helped establish in 1987. Apart from the numerous conference papers and journal articles he has written, Professor Meredith has published more than 20 books. His most recent book – 21st Century Practice Management, launched earlier this year – provides an essential guide to operating a medical practice.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at November 9, 2007 12:21 PM