Outgoing RANZCO president Associate Professor Heather Mack has announced a new scholarship in her namesake for young female ophthalmologists and trainees at a recent council meeting that also featured approval of the college’s first-ever Sustainability Charter.
The RANZCO Council met via Zoom on Saturday 10 October where Tasmanian ophthalmologist Professor Nitin Verma commenced his role as president for the next two years. He succeeds Mack who was the college’s first female president in its 50-year history.
At the meeting, Mack launched the new Heather G Mack Scholarship for Women. It will be available for final year trainees and young female Fellows.
“This $4,000 scholarship will fund one woman a year to undertake further governance and leadership education. I hope this scholarship will encourage and enable more women to step into leadership roles within the collage,” she said.
The council’s main orders of business was the approval of RANZCO’s 2021-2023 Strategic Plan, as well as the first Sustainability Charter. The latter seeks to ensure the sustainability and relevance of ophthalmology, improvements in eye health, and the college.
The Strategic Plan sets operational objectives across the areas of education, membership and advocacy. Both these documents, plus the annual report are available on the RANZCO website.
Meanwhile, Verma signalled his intent to focus on collaboration and leadership in his presidency, while also remaining agile for the rapidly changing ‘new normal’.
Incumbent directors Dr Diana Conrad and Dr Christine Younan were re-elected to the RANZCO Board for a further three years.
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