AUSTRALIAN Catholic University’s new vice chancellor and president Zlatko Skrbiš was installed at a Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney last Friday.
Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, president of ACU Corporation and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, was the principal celebrant. Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP delivered the homily.
A performance of a Slovenian folk song, Zarja (‘Dawn’), preceded the ceremony. Due to COVID restrictions, members of Professor Skrbiš’s family were unable to travel from Slovenia to attend the Mass; they recorded the musical performance as a gift to him.
Professor Skrbiš, ACU’s fourth vice chancellor, pledged his commitment to leading the university as an ethical, enterprising organisation that would have an impact both within and across the communities in which it inhabits.
“To be successful as a vice-chancellor in any university, you have to be good at all of the things you would expect of any vice-chancellor: prioritising the needs of our students, ethical leadership, commitment to research, effective administration, and the pursuit of excellence in all of our intellectual endeavours,” he said
“However, to be successful as a vice-chancellor at a Catholic university, you need to do all of that and also be very good at leading it in its Catholic endeavours.
“This is because a Catholic university is, by definition, part of the Church.
“Whilst having its own governance structures, it is genuinely part of the wider ecclesial mission of the Church in Australia and the world.
“As ACU’s new vice-chancellor, I fully commit myself to both of these priorities.”
