Colin Ahoy receives an Honorary Doctorate
May 2022 was momentous for proud Anaiwan man and UNE’s Elder in Residence, Uncle Colin Ahoy, culminating the success and recognition after a lifetime devoted to fighting for Aboriginal education and land rights.
Uncle Colin was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa (HonDLitt) at the University of New England’s Autumn Graduation for his longstanding commitment to Aboriginal education as well as his extensive and diverse community involvement. He became one of the first Anaiwan people to be so honoured by the University.
Image: UNE Elder-in-Residence, Dr Colin Ahoy with Prof. Joe Fraser, Pro-Vice Chancellor Indigenous Strategy (UNE), May 2022
“I was very surprised but incredibly honoured to receive the honorary doctorate from UNE,” Mr Ahoy said. “I’ve always fought for Aboriginal education, especially for young disadvantaged youths, but never expected to be recognised in this manner.”
The award recognises his dedication in removing barriers to education and improving employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. As UNE’s Elder-in-Residence, Uncle Colin has provided invaluable mentoring for students and extensive cultural advice to UNE.
The honorary award also acknowledges Uncle Colin’s support of the UNE Oorala Aboriginal Centre, and leadership within the local Aboriginal community and his ongoing commitment to Aboriginal education and employment.
Uncle Colin began his career at UNE more than 30 years ago and has worked for the Media Resources Unit, as a Laboratory Assistant and in the Information and Technology Rural Development Centre before joining Oorala. He started his successful association with the TRACKS tertiary preparation program when he joined the team working with Indigenous inmates at the Glen Innes Correctional Centre. In 2001, the program won an Australian Universities Teaching Committee Institutional Award for the delivery of educational services.
In 2010, he was appointed as Campus Mentor for Aboriginal students at UNE Centre and commenced the role of UNE’s inaugural Elder-in-Residence in 2013. As the Elder-in-Residence, Uncle Colin has provided personal one-on-one advice and cultural support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and students across the University, leading the university’s local community engagement. He remains deeply involved in the learning journeys of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at UNE.
Recently, Uncle Colin contributed to the development of UNE’s inaugural Reconciliation Action Plan and the Aboriginal Employment Strategy. In addition to his work at UNE, Uncle Colin has maintained a deep involvement in community, the management and protection of local cultural heritage and the Armidale Local Aboriginal Land Council, the treatment of young Aboriginal people in the justice system and his beloved NARWAN Eels football club of which he is a founding member.
2017
Honorary Doctor of Letters awarded
Two outstanding educators have received the first University of New England honorary doctorates awarded to Aboriginal people.
Image: August 2017 Graduation: Mr Greg Davison, Director Oorala Aboriginal Centre; Mrs Dianne Roberts OAM; Professor Jack Beetson, and Uncle Steve Widders, Anaiwan Elder and Welcome to Country speaker.
Professor Jack Beetson and Mrs Dianne Roberts have been each been awarded with an Honorary Doctor of Letters honoris causa (HonDLitt) for their lifelong contribution to the development of Aboriginal education.
Professor Beetson, a Ngemba man from Western NSW, has worked in the field of Aboriginal affairs nationally and internationally. He was convenor of the inaugural Indigenous Education Committee of the Asia and South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education; led the formulation of UNESCO’s first manifesto on Indigenous adult education, and in 2001 was awarded an United Nations Unsung Hero award for his work on reconciliation.
In 2008, Professor Beetson was appointed as a UNE Adjunct Professor.
Dianne Roberts, a Dhungutti woman originally from Bellbrook, has devoted her life to the education of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. That work began as a volunteer mother with Mininbah School in 1971. She served as a cleaner, bus driver, education assistant before becoming Director of Minimbah Aboriginal Pre-School in 1987 and Principal of the Primary School in 1997 – a position she held until 2013.
Mrs Roberts was awarded an Order of Australia in 1984 in recognition of her contribution to the education of Aboriginal children.
“This is the first time in the history of UNE that honorary doctorates have been bestowed on Aboriginal people,” said Director of the Oorala Aboriginal Centre, Greg Davison. “It represents an important milestone and another step in UNE’s decades-long project to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through education.”
The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students at UNE has grown, with support from the Oorala Aboriginal Centre, from a mere handful 30 years ago to more than 850 enrolled students in 2017.
Twenty-one Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students graduated at the University of New England Spring Graduation and brought the total of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students who have graduated from UNE to over 800.
