An update from Paul Gough

Paul Gough Transcript

VISUAL: Paul Gough speaks directly to camera. 

PAUL GOUGH SPEAKS: Hello everybody, you'll probably have heard that I'm leaving RMIT at the end of 2019, taking up a job in the UK in January 2020. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, because I love RMIT, I love Design and Social Context and I love all the people I work with. And the main driver is not to go to another high powered job, there have been a number of drivers, but the heart of it is family. My daughter, my eldest daughter, has just had a young baby, Finley James, a bonnie baby boy and our family are a really tight unit, we've had some demanding tough times being apart in the last five years and I want to be back there with them and you'll all understand that.

But think of the next six months, because I'm not going away, I'll be here and there's plenty for us to do. We've got the annual operating plan for the college, we've got the discipline roadmaps we're working on, we've got the five big projects around Brunswick, growing that, around VE - making sure it's fit for the future, around Hanoi and the work we're doing in Vietnam, around the Capitol Theatre, which is a tremendous asset for the University and the Cultural Engagement Plan to take all our galleries and archives out into the community. So all that is going to go on, it's all going to be business as usual and I'm available, I'm around, I talk to people, I meet people. If any of you want to come and talk to me, I'm here, I'm always here.

And the other thing to say is how good the team is that I've built around me, they are tremendous. From the program managers, the associate deans, the school managers, my deans and directors and deputies and heads of school, what a great team. They're terrific. And I've learned one thing from Martin, one thing, many many things really but if one thing sticks out above all, leaders do not create followers, leaders should create future leaders and if leadership is about a kind of relay race, then it's not just about the runner, it's about the baton and passing on the baton is going to be really important and I've got some great people around me, we can take that baton and keep the mission the values and all that we stand for in Design and Social Context really moving forward, because we're really good, we care for our students, we care for each other, we are hugely ambitious and we will continue to be excellent long after I've gone.

So keep the faith, let's keep talking, invite me across to your areas of work and I look forward to talking to you. 

VISUAL: RMIT logo appears

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