Distinguished Professor Richard Southby awarded Honorary Doctorate
L to R: Vice-Chancellor & President Professor Sharon Pickering, Professor Richard Southby and The Hon Peter Young AM KC
Monash University has conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Laws on Distinguished Professor Richard Southby, the highest honour the University can bestow on an individual of professional or academic distinction. The honorary degree was conferred on Professor Southby during a ceremony at the University’s Clayton campus this week.
Professor Southby was the Executive Dean and Distinguished Professor of Global Health Emeritus, Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University in Washington DC, where he joined in 1979. In addition, Professor Southby was an Adjunct Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine and Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Maryland.
Born in Melbourne and educated at Geelong Grammar School, Professor Southby graduated with a bachelor's degree from The University of Melbourne in 1965, a master's degree from Cornell University in 1967 and a doctoral degree from Monash University in 1973. Professor Southby is a Fellow of the Australian College of Health Service Management, a Fellow of The Royal Society of Medicine, an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Legal Medicine, a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health, Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Public Health.
Since 1984, Professor Southby has been the Director of the Interagency Institute for Federal Health Care Executives, the major continuing education program for senior health care executives from the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, US Public Health Service and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2005, he was appointed to the Board of The Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Islands Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC. He was also appointed Senior Fellow at the center in July 2007.
Professor Southby was previously the Director of Health Services Research and Teaching in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at The University of Sydney. He was a member of the faculty of the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at Monash University from its founding in 1968 until 1978. In 1975, Professor Southby served as a full time Commissioner on the Australian Hospitals and Health Services Commission.
Professor Southby is President Emeritus of the Royal Society of Medicine Foundation, past President of the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health, past President of the International Health Policy and Management Institute and past President of the Association of Navy Reserve Officers Training Command (NROTC) Colleges and Universities. He was also President of the Australian Public Health Association.
Professor Southby has been a consultant on health services management, policy and education projects with numerous organizations, including The World Bank, in Barbados, Chile, England, Hungary, Jordan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Professor Southby has edited books and published in academic and professional journals.
We extend our warm congratulations to Dr Southby on his award of the Honorary Doctorate.