30 November 2009
CITATION
Award of Doctor of the University honoris causa
Mr Desmond McWilliam
Chancellor,
Mr Desmond McWilliam has made a significant contribution to the University though his role in establishing a publishing company devoted entirely to the international dissemination of Triple P – the Positive Parenting Program®.
His efforts have helped ensure that the program, developed by Professor Matt Sanders and his colleagues in UQ’s Parenting and Family Support Centre (PFSC) has become the most widely disseminated, evidence-based parenting program in the world.
Based on 30 years’ of clinical research, the program is now used by governments and health authorities in 17 countries – the United States, England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, Germany, Belgium, Singapore, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Curacao and Australia.
Mr McWilliam is a former director of news for Channel 10 and spent 35 years working in radio and television, prior to establishing Triple P International in strategic partnership with UniQuest Pty Limited to disseminate the Triple P Program in 2000. He is currently Director of Triple P International.
Over the past nine years, Mr McWilliams’ relationship with Triple P has created national and international media attention for the University, provided grant leveraging both nationally and internationally for ongoing research by the PFSC and supported ongoing international trials of the program.
Trials include a recently concluded study conducted with the University of South Carolina in 18 counties in South Carolina that demonstrated the long-term benefits of the program to communities.
The five-year study found that making Triple P available to all parents led to significantly lower rates of confirmed child abuse, fewer out-of-home placements and fewer hospitalisations from child abuse injuries, when compared to communities without access to Triple P.
Chancellor, in recognition of his contribution to The University of Queensland, I present to you Mr Desmond McWilliam for the award of Doctor of the University honoris causa bestowed by the Senate of The University of Queensland.