3 August 2005
New name and director for joint research venture
One of Australia’s most respected experts in agricultural research and extension has been named as the head of a new alliance between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI).
Professor Deirdre Lemerle has been appointed Director of the renamed E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, a joint research venture between CSU and DPI to drive profitable and sustainable agriculture. The joint venture was previously known as the Wagga Wagga Agricultural Innovation Park.
The E H Graham Centre will draw on scientists from both CSU and the DPI in five programs areas – agricultural health, agricultural production, food science and product quality, soil and water, and extension, training and communication research.
Left to right: E H Graham Centre Director Professor Deirdre Lemerle, Eddie Graham’s daughter Phyllis White, NSW DPI Director-General Barry Buffier, CSU Chancellor Laurie Willett, NSW Member for Canterbury Linda Burney and CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Goulter.
Photo: Keith Wheeler
Announcing the new Director, NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said “Professor Deirdre Lemerle brings great vision, energy and a passion for agriculture to the role and I congratulate her on her appointment”.
“She is widely known for her work as a principal research scientist with the NSW DPI and leader of the Cropping Systems Program of the Co-Operative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management".
CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Goulter said “Professor Lemerle brings with her the interdisciplinary understanding and vision that is needed to put our research status on the national and international stage”.
“The collaboration between CSU and DPI offers the University a clear research focus in agriculture and through this Centre we aim to become the leading agricultural research institution within the next five years,” said Professor Goulter.
The new name of the Centre honours a pioneer in Edgar Hugh Graham who held the state seat of Wagga Wagga in State Parliament from 1941 until his death in 1957,” Mr Macdonald said.
"He set a record as the state’s longest serving Minister for Agriculture, and is still respected for his pioneering role in developing rural policies".
Graham’s vision for the rural sector was invoked at the renaming of the E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation in Wagga Wagga on 3 August where a plaque was unveilled by the Member for Canterbury and CSU graduate Linda Burney on behalf of NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald.
A large crowd gathered under a wet marquee to witness the renaming of the E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation in Wagga Wagga on 3 August.
Photo: Keith Wheeler
Story: Fiona Halloran