PATRICIA Forsythe has been officially welcomed and inducted as the eighth chancellor of the University of Newcastle during a special Investiture Ceremony on Friday.
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Ms Forsythe, a former high school teacher and graduate of the university, replaces Paul Jeans as the chancellor, the formal head of the university and chair of the institution's governing body, the University Council.
Friday's ceremony, in the university's Great Hall, was steeped in tradition.
University vice chancellor Alex Zelinsky addressed the crowd before NSW Governor Margaret Beazley conducted the investiture, which inclued the presentation of the 1951 student petition to the chancellor. The petition is a copy of the signatures gathered in 1951 by the University Establishment Group, which contributed to the establishment of the university.
The chancellor then took part in an enrobing ceremony and was presented with the university mace and chancellor's medal, before taking a pledge to office.
Newcastle born and raised, former High Commissioner to New Zealand Ms Forsythe was named as the university's new chancellor in October last year.
Ms Forsythe attended Mayfield East Public School, Hunter Girls High School and the University of Newcastle, where she graduated with an Arts degree and a Diploma of Education in the 1970s.
She served as Australia's High Commissioner to New Zealand from 2019-2022 and as executive director of the Sydney Business Chamber from 2006-2019, and a member of the NSW Legislative Council from 1991 to 2006.
