Dr Charmaine Green, a Wajarri, Badimaya and Wilunyu woman of the Yamaji Nation, and a Research Fellow with the WA Centre for Rural Health in Geraldton, has become the first PhD to be awarded through Kurongkurl Katitjin, Edith Cowan University’s (ECU) Centre for Indigenous Australian Education and Research.
“I feel very honoured and somewhat surprised to the first Kurongkurl Katitjin PhD graduate and hope for many more to come through this school,” said Dr Green.
This achievement was further celebrated with Dr Green announced as the inaugural Kurongkurl Katitjin Research Medal recipient for 2022, recognising her academic excellence and outstanding effort applied throughout the program of study.
Dr Green has had a strong association with ECU, having also completed a Master of Arts (Indigenous Sector Management) and Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Sector Management.
Through her PhD, Dr Green was supervised and mentored by principal supervisor Dr Mick Adams and Professor Neil Drew (Director of ECU’s Australian Indigenous HealthInfonet), Dr Juli Coffin, Dr Sandra Thompson (Director of the WA Centre for Rural Health).
In her thesis, Dr Green explored ways that cultural knowledges can assist to understand pathways to health and social transformation.
Senior Research Fellow Dr Mick Adams negotiated and recruited Dr Green to undertake the Neil Thomson Scholarship.
Professor Neil Drew said Dr Green’s was a lovely success story.
“As a recipient of the Neil Thomson Scholarship, which is jointly funded between The Lowitja Institute and the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, Dr Green’s research is a testament to herself and her community for it embodies the common goal of achieving the best health and wellbeing outcomes for Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples,” said Professor Drew.
Dr Green’s dedicated work with the WA Centre for Rural Health in Geraldton is commended by Director of the WA Centre for Rural Health (WACRH) of The University of Western Australia (UWA) and one of Charmaine’s PhD supervisor’s Professor Sandra Thompson, who said she’d always been impressed at Charmaine’s incredible talent as a poet, author, artist, photographer, storyteller, social science researcher and academic.
“At the WA Centre for Rural Health we are so proud of her achievement in completing her PhD and we know what incredible tenacity and hard work it took,” said Professor Thompson.
“Her thesis is impressive and stands as testimony to what a deep and original thinker she is and I congratulate ECU in recognising this by the award of the Kurongkurl Katitjin research medal.”
Dean of Kurongkurl Katitjin and Director Aboriginal Research at ECU, Professor Dan McAullay said he was humbled to learn that Dr Green was the first Aboriginal student to receive this accolade through Kurongkurl Katitjin.
“To date, ECU has had nine Aboriginal PhD graduates across various Schools and disciplines. As a first for Kurongkurl Katitjin, Dr Green has now been etched into our story as an outstanding personal and community achievement,” said Professor McAullay.
Photo caption: Photo of Dr Charmaine Green at the ECU graduation ceremony held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre taken by Tamati Smith, Dr Green’s son.