The University of New England is pleased to welcome the highly accomplished René Cornish to the UNE Law School. An expert in the digital disruption of social media on society, she comes all the way from South Africa to share her expertise with UNE Law students as a lecturer.
Coming from Kariega, a small town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, René is passionate about equal access to education. Completing her Baccalaureus Juris at Nelson Mandela University followed by a Baccalaureus Legum at the University of Johannesburg, Gauteng, René was first introduced to academia through the Centre for International and Comparative Labour and Social Security (CICLASS) where she worked as a researcher. There, she taught a number of undergraduate mercantile law units and discovered her passion for teaching.
Nelson Mandela once said, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’ – and this fundamentally guides my teaching philosophy.
Shaped by South African values
Her upbringing in South Africa has heavily shaped her values and René says she is passionate about jurisprudence and social justice - and how these values do not always align with the law.
René Cornish and her horses.
“Coming from a country where not everyone was afforded equal opportunities to education, or to pursue careers of their choosing, the sharing of knowledge is extremely important for me,” René says.
“I am a strong proponent of social justice, meaning everyone has the right to social, political and economic opportunities irrespective of immutable attributes.
“Law, on the other hand, is not always just and in some instances, laws have been used as instruments of oppression.”
Always do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.
René is highly accomplished, maintaining an Advocate of the High Court status in South Africa while holding full membership with the Queensland Law Society as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court in Queensland. She is also an Accredited Mediator and Arbitrator with the Arbitration Foundation South Africa, a Nationally Accredited Mediator (NMAS) and an Accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP).
She holds specialist qualifications in employment law and alternative dispute resolution (cum laude) and a Master of Laws from the Queensland University of Technology. However, despite her impressive resume, René is most excited about learning from our community here at UNE: “I look forward to learning from my colleagues, but also from my students.”
In Trimester 3, René will be teaching Introduction to Legal Studies, and in Trimester 1 next year will take on Technology and the Law, a subject she is very passionate about after completing her PhD thesis on it.
“My PhD examined digital disruption of social media on society, but more particularly, the employment relationship in a Global South context.”
An ardent animal lover
Outside of law, René describes herself as an “ardent animal lover”.
Just part of the fur family!
“At the moment we have a small menagerie: two 18-year-old ragdoll cats, two 10-year-old shih tzu Malteses, a rescue Frenchie and 5-month-old blue heeler, a Clydesdale, a 23-year-old quarab, a rescue Lippitt Morgan, and an OTT.”
While missing the beach, her favourite place to be, René is very excited to be part of the UNE Law School. For up-and-coming students her piece of advice is to stay inquisitive. “Curiosity for knowledge, a growth mindset, perseverance and resilience will stand you in good stead.
"Always do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."
We welcome René Cornish to UNE and wish her all the best in her new position!
