Dimensions
161 x 241 x 21mm
Fay Marles made history when she became the first woman Chancellor of the University of Melbourne in February 2001, but firsts were not unusual for her: she had already served as Victoria's first Equal Opportunity Commissioner. She was later to recall how her first lecture was also the first lecture given at the university by the distinguished historian Professor Manning.
Ms Marles was an undergraduate at the University of Melbourne between 1944 and 1948 when she completed a combined course of Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Social Studies. She completed an MA Prelim in 1971 as a mature-aged student with four children; in 1975 she was awarded her MA at the same ceremony at which her daughter received her BA and Dip Ed.
In 1975, after a gap of 22 years, Fay Marles returned to the full-time workforce as a senior tutor in social work at the University of Melbourne, and the following year was appointed a lecturer. Two years later she became Victorian Commissioner for Equal Opportunity, an office she held from 1977 to 1987, and for which she is probably best known.
In Aiming for the Skies, Marles reflects on a life rich in both personal and professional achievements.
