Inaugural Elder in Residence joins UNSW Medicine

Aboriginal woman (Aunty) Ali Golding has been appointed as Elder in Residence in the faculty of Medicine at the University of New South Wales – the first time any medical school in Australia has made such an appointment.

   

The inaugural Elder in Residence will advise on and contribute to Indigenous activities with UNSW Medicine and the University.

Professor Peter Smith, Dean of UNSW Medicine, officially welcomed Mrs Golding to UNSW today at a reception in her honour.

“Appointing Aunty Ali Golding demonstrates UNSW Medicine’s commitment to an authentic and practical relationship with our local community, and the importance of this in the support of medical students generally and in the training of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Doctors specifically,” Professor Smith said.

Aunty Ali is a Biripi woman who grew up on the Taree Mission in NSW. She took up study at Nungalinya College Darwin and graduated with a Diploma of Theology.

Since that time, Aunty Ali has made an enormous contribution to the development of a respectful and inclusive contemporary spirituality that speaks to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.

In 2010 she was awarded the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Elder of the Year (Female).

The Governor of New South Wales, Professor Marie Bashir, congratulated UNSW Medicine on the appointment.

“Mrs Golding will be a unique source of knowledge and cultural wisdom which relate to the First Australians, this continent's Indigenous people.

“I have known Mrs Golding for many years and believe that she will provide another dimension of enrichment in the academic team as well as with the students, who interact with her.

“The University and the Faculty are to be applauded for this unique appointment which I hope will become a model for other academic institutions across our land.”

UNSW Medicine has established itself as the national leader in the training of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Doctors. In 2010, 27 Aboriginal students studied medicine at UNSW across its six-year undergraduate program.

Part of the success of UNSW’s medical program has been the many integrated supports developed specifically for Indigenous students. Professor Smith said the initiatives ensure Aboriginal students are given every advantage to succeed in their studies. This includes direct financial support through other scholarships such as the Shalom Gamarada Ngiyana Yani Residential scholarship program at Shalom College on campus, which has provided scholarships worth $17,500 (in 2011) per student per year for 37 students since its inception in 2005. Nine other scholarships to the value of $1.4 million are provided by the Balnaves Foundation.

Balnaves Foundation founder Mr Neil Balnaves said his group is delighted with the continuing partnership.

“Our support of nine Indigenous scholarships to the value of more than $1.4 million is one of the largest donations in our history. It is testament to the innovation, experience and expertise in Indigenous health that we have always felt aligned extremely well with our own values.

“It is this innovation that sees UNSW Medicine develop an Elder in Residence program. We think this unique program, with Aunty Ali as the inaugural holder of the position, will be an outstanding success and help maintain UNSW Medicine’s position as the leader in this field and impact positively on the health of all Indigenous Australians.”

Professor Lisa Jackson Pulver, inaugural Chair of Indigenous Health at UNSW, has worked with Faculty to operationalise its Indigenous health statement. She sees the appointment of an Elder in Residence as a profound step toward empowering Aboriginal people in their desire to become health professionals.

“This is one of those moments and decisions that will be remembered in time, an initiative that genuinely recognises Aboriginal world views – which includes listening to our Elders – and makes them core to our normal practise of training doctors and other health professionals.”

Media contact: Maria Backlund, UNSW Medicine | 0409 996 294 | mbacklund@unsw.edu.au

Source: UNSW