CITATION
Chancellor,
Adjunct Associate Professor Mary Graham is a Kombumerri and Wakka Wakka community development leader, Elder, educator, and philosopher. She is recognised in Australia and globally for her longstanding advocacy for and commitment to Australia’s Indigenous peoples, as well as her outstanding contributions to the field of philosophy.
Adjunct Associate Professor Graham has long been a sounding board and driver of Aboriginal philosophy. During the 1980s, she was central to establishing Aboriginal and Islander Child Care and other Indigenous organisations in Brisbane. She was also involved in the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action as the regional body responsible for progressing Native Title.
Adjunct Associate Professor Graham has played a pivotal role on many Boards and Committees, including as a founding member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, a Commissioner of the Queensland Corrective Services Commission, Regional Councillor with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, a member of the Ethics Council of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, and a founding director of Australian BlackCard.
Adjunct Associate Professor Graham currently serves as a board member of the Aboriginal and Islander Independent Community School, central to the Yugambeh Region Aboriginal Corporation Alliance, and is a member of the steering group of Regenerative Songlines Australia.
As an Adjunct Associate Professor at The University of Queensland, she shares her knowledge with students in the fields of Aboriginal history, politics, and comparative philosophy. Adjunct Associate Professor Graham is widely recognised and admired as Australia’s leading Aboriginal philosopher, and her contributions on Aboriginal philosophy have influenced many. She has collaborated closely with UQ philosophy scholars in redesigning an Environmental Philosophy course and co-authored a related journal article in 2021.
Chancellor, I present to you Adjunct Associate Professor Mary Graham, Doctor of the University honoris causa of Queensland University of Technology, for the award of Doctor of the University honoris causa, bestowed by the Senate of The University of Queensland.
