ALIA West

March 2006

Tribute to Jan Partridge

On her retirement from Curtin Dept of Media and Information (Information Studies), 9 December 2005

Alison Gregg

Jenni Woodroffe has already told you a little of the early years of Jan's life BC - the time before Curtin which she joined in 1984 - and the beginning of her academic career. Jan and Jenni were instrumental in setting up ALIA Local Studies Section (WA), inspiring their students to learn more of the history of their own state and how to discover, record, preserve and disseminate that knowledge in the context of information services.

I want to pay tribute tonight to Jan's role as a lecturer and mentor over the 22 years since then. She has been a brilliant lecturer but - far more than that - she has consistently put the needs of students first. She always wanted them to succeed because she wanted them to enjoy the experience of success. I stress this point because it's not necessarily true of all academic staff in all institutions. Some want success for their students at least in part because it will reflect greater academic glory on the institution or the lecturer. Not Jan. Her motivation has always been the needs of the students balanced against the demands of the discipline. Throughout her long career at Curtin, she has gone to endless lengths to make it all work together for the benefit of all - and how well she has succeeded!

If you look around suburban libraries today, you'll see many that proudly boast a thriving local studies section. That wasn't the case in 1984. Back then, WA history was often regarded as something you did at Battye Library; knowledge of local history came largely through chatting with senior citizens. Now, nearly 22 years later, many dedicated local studies librarians in WA public libraries are graduates of Jan's courses. How did she do it?

I think it's due to a combination of Jan's innate love of Australia and its history, and her empathy with all sorts of people from all kinds of backgrounds. That, and the care and dedication she gives to her task. She understands the difficulties facing first-time tertiary students in a massive institution. She gives practical advice about which lecturing or administration staff to see, where to find them, what to do, and in what order. She tunes into each student's particular needs and puts enormous effort into helping them. And she's a lateral thinker. If a thing can't be done one way, try another. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well. Jan's outlook reflects her own background of country-born independence and resilience - an attitude that seems almost wondrous to some in the current generation.

To use an old Australian term, Jan is an urger. Many of the people here tonight are here because Jan believed in their ability and urged them on. People who never thought that they could speak in public have given papers at conferences. People who had never organised anything much more than kids' school lunches and transport to school have organised state conference programmes and travel schedules; people who thought they could never write have had papers published in respected journals. They've learnt to do these things because Jan believed in them and urged them on.

Finally, Jan's willingness to put aside her own convenience and comfort for her students is amazing. She has struggled through classes while clearly suffering from flu, then marked and returned students' work while under doctor's orders to rest. She has put the students first every time, helping and encouraging them through their study programmes, widening their horizons. It's not every lecturer who turns up on campus at 7:00am just so she can drive the student bus to Studies Day at New Norcia ... and back. It would have cost too much for a paid driver, you see. That's the level of dedication we came to expect from Jan.

Jan, we wish you all the best. Now enjoy every minute of that new retirement luxury - free time! Thank you from all of us.

Alison Gregg