| Vice-Chancellor Professor Gerard Sutton (left) with Professor John Ho... Vice-Chancellor Professor Gerard Sutton (left) with Professor John Hogg and his wife Linda at the tribute dinner | 
| Close friends and colleagues Dr Stephen Andersen (left) and Professor... Close friends and colleagues Dr Stephen Andersen (left) and Professor John Hogg at the tribute dinner for Professor Hogg | 
| Three key people involved in the establishment of UOW’s Graduat... Three key people involved in the establishment of UOW’s Graduate School of Medicine (from left): Professor John Hogg, Associate Professor Lori Lockyer and Professor Don Iverson |
UOW honours Medical School’s Foundation Dean
18 Feb 2008 | Nick Hartgerink
The University of Wollongong will bestow its highest honour on the Illawarra surgeon who played a key role in establishing its Graduate School of Medicine.
UOW Vice-Chancellor Professor Gerard Sutton announced on Saturday night (16 February) that Professor John Hogg OAM would be made an Emeritus Professor of the University for his contribution to the GSM.
He made the announcement as 400 people attended a tribute dinner in Professor Hogg's honour at the University Hall. Professor Hogg, who has stepped down for his full-time role but will continue to be involved with the Medical School on a part-time basis, will receive the honour at the July Graduation Ceremony.
"This is the highest honour the University can bestow," Professor Sutton told guests at the tribute dinner. "It's something that is reserved for the cream of the cream, and generally only given to those who perform outstanding service over a long period."
Professor Sutton said the fact that Professor Hogg had achieved this status in a relatively short time was testament to what he had achieved in establishing the Medical School, which accepted its first students in January 2007. Professor Sutton also praised the way Professor Hogg had quickly evolved from a senior surgeon with no academic experience into a polished academic.
Professor Hogg joined the University in August 2004 as Foundation Dean of the Medical School after a long and successful career as a vascular and general surgeon in the Illawarra. He worked closely with UOW’s Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences Executive Dean Professor Don Iverson and Dr Lori Lockyer to develop the Medical School's innovative curriculum and unique community-based model that called for the involvement of the local medical fraternity in the students' clinical training.
"This University could not have made a better choice as our Foundation Dean," Professor Sutton said. "John Hogg became the bridge between the University and the medical community and we will be forever in his debt."
Professor Iverson recounted Professor Hogg’s key role in gaining Australian Medical Council accreditation for the GSM’s innovative model. “We would never have been in a position to even seek accreditation without John’s efforts,” he said.
Professor Iverson said Professor Hogg had made a great contribution to the Illawarra community by addressing the growing shortage of doctors. “The GSM over the next decade will change the face of the medical scene in this region, by graduating high quality doctors who choose to stay here. And the GSM would not exist if it hadn’t been for John Hogg,” he said.
In a night of tributes, the MC and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Operations) Professor John Patterson said: “We knew with John in the role of Foundation Dean the School would be supported by the overwhelming majority of the Illawarra medical fraternity, and that’s how it has turned out.”
Many Illawarra doctors attended the tribute dinner.
A highlight of the evening was a “Parkinson-style” interview conducted by old friend and colleague Dr Stephen Andersen. The pair have been friends since their student days in the 1960s at the University of Sydney, and the interview ranged over many topics including Professor Hogg’s childhood, his work as a doctor in the Antarctic, four years in the United Kingdom training to be a surgeon and his decision – influenced by Dr Andersen’s relocation a year earlier – to settle in Wollongong in 1977.
They also discussed Professor Hogg and his physiotherapist wife Linda’s work in hospitals in Bali in the wake of the 2002 terrorist bombings there. Both were awarded Order of Australia Medals for their efforts, while Professor Hogg was also named Wollongong Citizen of the Year.
Professor Hogg said he was "deeply moved" by the generosity of the University in hosting the tribute dinner, and described the Emeritus Professorship as an " extraordinary honour … excessive for what I have done”.
He paid tribute to Professor Iverson for his vision which drove the establishment of the GSM, and said he was proud to have been able to help prepare students “for a world of health care that is changing so quickly we can’t possibly imagine what’s next”.
“We owe so much to the support we have received from the Area Health Service, the region’s Divisions of General Practice and the region’s doctors, who are proving to be superb mentors and teachers for our students.”
He said the GSM had assembled a “fantastic team” of academics and administrative staff, and was “realising everything we hoped it would realise.”
|
