MU-CEL students receive their PhD’s and Vice Chancellor Commendations at
Macquarie’s September 2007 Graduation Ceremony
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Three MU-CEL PhD candidates received their degrees at Macquarie University’s graduation ceremony held on 20 September 2007. Two of these became the first candidates in their respective countries to have been awarded a PhD in Environmental Law. In addition, two of MU-CEL’s outstanding Masters students received Vice Chancellor Commendations. During our graduation in April 2007, four graduates from our environmental law Masters Programs also received Vice Chancellor’s Commendations. Congratulations to all of you for these outstanding achievements.
Rose MwebazaMs Rose Mwebaza, a citizen of Uganda, completed her thesis on a comparative study on public participation of Indigenous peoples in environmental decision-making and natural resources management in Uganda and Australia. Upon graduation she became the first person in Uganda to have obtained a PhD in Environmental Law. She obtained her Bachelor of Laws in 1995 from the University of Makererere, University in Kampala (1995) and a Masters in Comparative Law from the University of Florida, USA (1997). She also spent six months in 2002 as a research fellow at the IUCN’s Environmental Law Centre in Bonn, Germany. Rose was supervised by Professor Donna Craig whilst undertaking her PhD at Macquarie’s Centre for Environmental Law. |
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Ely OuanoEly Ouano’s thesis examined the legal and institutional impediments to the use of cleaner production to improve production efficiency and reduce environmental pollution from industry. Ely used his engineering background and long-time service as a senior project officer with the Asian Development Bank in Manila to focus on a number of cleaner production issues using the Philippine sugar industry as a case study. He is the first individual from the Philippines to have obtained a PhD in environmental law. Professor Michael Jeffery was Ely’s principal supervisor during his PhD programme. |
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Justin Rose
Justin Rose is an environmental lawyer of 14 years experience. He has just been awarded his PhD, under the supervision of Professor Donna Craig, addressing community-based and collaborative conservation and management of natural resources in Pacific island jurisdictions. Justin spent three years in a SPREP/AVI-facilitated environmental law capacity-building position assisting government agencies in the Federated States of Micronesia (1998-2000). Justin has subsequently provided environmental law services to a range of Pacific NGOs and community-based organisations, including the role of Community Conservation Legal Specialist on the GEF-funded Pohnpei Community Conservation and Compatible Development Project (2000-2001). He has been a research fellow at the Centre for Agriculture and Law at the University of New England and is collaborating with MU-CEL on the Christensen Fund Project developing locally based resource management in Micronesia.
Jane Scanlon
Ms. Jane Scanlon, a recent graduate of MU-CEL’s Master of International Environmental Law, received a Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation for outstanding academic performance. Jane is also a recipient of the Peter Hunt memorial prize which is awarded annually to the outstanding postgraduate student undertaking a coursework masters program in environmental law.
Jane intends to proceed on to a PhD researching the role of the international principles and instruments of sustainable development in corporate sustainability conduct under the supervision of Professor Michael Jeffery commencing in early 2008.
Jennifer Brown
At the September graduation, Ms Jennifer Brown received a Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation for attaining a 4.0 grade point average during her Masters of International Environmental Law program. Jennifer is giving serious consideration to pursuing a further higher degree in her field of interest.