2019 ANNUAL REPORT CONTENTS 5 Mission and Key Goals 6 Chancellor’s and Vice Chancellor’s Report 10 Faculty Reports 18 Bond University College 19 Bond University Student Association 20 Learning and Teaching 22 Research 24 Sport 26 Engagement 30 Financial Overview 32 Governance 3 2019 Annual Report Annual Report 2019 MISSION AND KEY GOALS THE MISSION As Australia’s first private, not-for-profit university, Bond University seeks to be recognised internationally as a leading independent university, imbued with a spirit to innovate, a commitment to influence and a dedication to inspire tomorrow’s professionals who share a personalised and transformational student experience. THE KEY GOALS Our key goals are high level goals that imply action. They sit within and are consistent with our mission. We will: 1. Deliver innovative programs attuned to industry and market needs. 2. Provide a service orientated culture focused on outcomes. 3. Raise our reputation, brand and the profile and impact of our research. 4. Promote commitment, agility, and responsiveness within our workforce culture. 5 2019 Annual Report Annual Report 2019 CHANCELLOR’S & VICE CHANCELLOR’S REPORT The year 2019 marked a very proud milestone in the history Chancellors and Vice Chancellors, as well as the families of the of Bond University. Our thirtieth birthday fell on the fifteenth University’s late co-founders Alan Bond and Harunori Takahashi. of May. A remarkable achievement for Australia’s first private university, we were delighted to celebrate the anniversary with Our annual HomeComing was held during the same week, designed our staff and students, donors and VIPs, alumni and community to engage as many alumni as possible. A feature was the Alumni of supporters all over the world. Awards evening where Kate Vidgen was named as the winner of the Robert Stable Medal. Amongst those alumni in attendance were To commemorate this very special birthday, over sixty-five ‘30th many of our hard-working committee members from the various Anniversary’ branded or themed events were held, designed to global Alumni Chapters. The breadth of our reach to all corners of support and enhance our engagement in personal, memorable and the globe is something for which we are well known and continues inspiring ways. to make us very proud. Much has been told about how our founders, Alan Bond and On May 15th, the University’s Foundation Day, staff and students Harunori Takahashi, dreamed of a progressive university with gathered in the quadrangle to recreate a historic photograph of the a strong international focus, upholding core disciplines aligned University’s first cohort of graduates taken on 14th February 1991. to industry, business and the professions, while supporting our Our celebrations were shared far and wide. During the year, more students to have the best experience possible. than 400 stories were published by external media specifically mentioning our 30thanniversary, not including the vast amount of However, soon after opening the doors, the University fell on difficult content created for our internal sources, such as the Bond website times. With little outside support, we quickly learned the hard lesson and social media channels. Potential reach has been estimated at of what it meant to be a private, independent institution. over 80 million people from Australia and around the world. Yet despite these challenges, students continued to vote with INFRASTRUCTURE POWERS AHEAD their feet by arriving at our campus door. Bond was clearly doing While we celebrated throughout the year, infrastructure something right and our approach since has, demonstrably, developments and improvements continued to keep Bond optimally stood the test of time. Our proven student-centredness, our deep functional and comfortable for the myriad of activities and understanding of the international and national education ‘markets’ programs we offer. and our focus on continual innovation have provided a wonderful foundation to both celebrate our past and to set goals for our future. A major highlight of the first half of the year was the opening of the Stage 2 extension to the Health Sciences and Medicine building – a We are forever grateful to the students who chose Bond and wonderful facility, welcomed by everyone who sets foot in the new we thank each and every one of them. Our students believe in a space. non-traditional model and seek an apolitical environment that is supportive of individualised learning from staff who genuinely care The site also now incorporates the Institute for Evidenced-Based about their progress and outcomes. Healthcare. The Institute was launched in June, transitioning from the Centre for Research in Evidence-Based Practice. The transition Bondies are lateral thinkers who accept risk, dare to dream and will also help to increase their impact, partnerships and translational continue to push boundaries wherever they live and work. Their project opportunities in addition to the development of new success is ours. educational programs. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR The new Institute is a beacon for our international efforts in To share celebrations of our momentous anniversary, the year was research and improving society and, as a modern, functional, and packed full of highlights and major events, building on our legacy technology-rich building, it will serve our Health and Medicine and celebrating our progress. programs for many years to come. As a gift to our alumni, during April we unveiled a commissioned The John and Alison Kearney Law Library supports the learning, sculpture called Limitless. A towering 6.5 metre masterpiece made teaching and research of the Faculty of Law and is part of the from polished steel, Limitless sits underneath our iconic Arch and exceptionally high quality learning experience enjoyed by Bond Law features the inscribed names of every Bond graduate (some 27,000 students. The Law Library provides access to an extensive range past students) from our first 30 years. Its launch was met with of materials, both online and in print. It is the University’s main widespread acclaim and sincere appreciation of the gesture. library and underwent a makeover in 2019 to provide more modern, student-friendly spaces. Designed by local artist Ian Haggerty, the majestic structure will forever recognise the original Bondies. Bond Business School opened the Business Commons in December, a new modern space to accommodate 120 students in a range of Hundreds of those names returned to campus in May to join the self-study areas, collaborative spaces and informal teaching hubs. annual Homecoming Week and associated events, culminating in our 30th Anniversary Gala Ball. The evening was a sell-out with 1000 On the sporting front, the Bond University Aquatic Centre opened attendees from around Australia and across the world – including in June with a new FINA-ratified 10-lane, 25m pool and included New York, London, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and even Botswana. the unveiling of our Swimming Hall of Fame. Several distinguished alumni and former Olympic champions attended a wonderful night Graduates from every year of Bond’s history attended, representing of reunion, fun and celebration. 35 nations. Special guests at the black-tie event included former On the eve of our birthday celebrations, our iconic landmark Arch SPORTING SUCCESS received the highest honour in world architecture. Professor Arata Our Sports engagement enjoyed another very positive period and Isozaki, architect of our founding buildings and the Arch, was named the success of various Bond teams and individual athletes further the winner of the international Pritzker Prize, honoring architects consolidated our profile. whose work has produced significant contributions to humanity and the built environment. The annual Bond University Blues Awards were presented in late February, celebrating the achievements of Bond Sport over the past To keep our academic programs functioning with world-class 30 years. facilities, we also saw a series of program-related infrastructure completed during the year. In the competitive arena, we continued to shine. We united with Screen Queensland to launch an Australian-first Bond won the National Per Capita Trophy for the third successive co-working hub, where screen industry creatives work alongside year at the revamped University National Championships that students. The Film and TV Creative Hub opened in October as a celebrate multi-university sporting competitions. joint initiative with Screen Queensland with an agenda of industry engagement. Our Rugby Union, Netball, Swimming, AFL, Tennis, Equestrian and Triathlon (for the first time) all fielded strong individual athletes and In July, we launched a new initiative in sport through the creation of teams that enjoyed great success with premierships for the Men’s the high-performance eSports Hub. This facility has been embraced AFL and Women’s Development AFL teams. by our students and their newly formed eSports club and was unveiled at Open Day. Bond’s High Performance Training Centre hosts national international and locally-based squads and won a Strength of The Bond FinTech Hub opened in October, an industry-engagement America Gold Training Standard, recognising the quality of our opportunity for the Bond Business School, home to 40 Bloomberg amenities, for a second year. We are the only Australian training terminals, the most of any university per head in Australia and facility to achieve this result. officially a member of the Bloomberg Experiential Learning Partner Program. We are proudly one of only three universities in Australia RELATIONSHIPS AND ENGAGEMENT to achieve this level of partnership. The associations we have with industry and the professions are important to Bond as they keep our academic practice current and Several other new pieces of infrastructure were completed, forge beneficial associations for our students and alumni. including the new entranceway to the University at the Eastern Ring Road. This impressive new entrance welcomes students, staff and Bond Business School celebrated its 30 years in July, hosting a visitors and provides an attractive point of arrival.