OBITUARY
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Dudley Jackson, Emeritus Professor and former head (1983-1990) of the Department of Economics at the University of Wollongong, passed away on July 26, 2015, in rural Queensland, not far from his Torbay Retirement Village in Hervey Bay.
He was one in a group of three professors of economics headhunted from Britain who came to Australia in 1983 to head economics departments in Western Australia, Tasmania and Wollongong.
During his working life, Professor Jackson was a prolific but humble writer, having authored seven books (published in the UK) and several publications in the now nationally coveted academic A* refereed journals.
At the University of Wollongong, Prof Jackson’s arrival was timely when the Department of Economics was a few years without a professorial head and also in need of academic progression, stimulation, expansion and a good national profile.
Notable was his well-known active and regular participation, sometimes with other department’s staff, at the annual Australian Conferences of Economists to recruit staff and to project a profile for the department.
His recruiting efforts were also extended to overseas during his trips.
As head of the department, Prof Jackson’s management style had been regarded as ‘‘relaxed’’ but with the sole purpose of academic commitment to bring out the best from staff and students, and to assist in the smooth management of the then new Faculty of Commerce.
After his early voluntary retirement in 2000, Prof Jackson often talked about his singularly proud achievement in having recruited some of the department’s best staff, who went on to project a high national and international standing for the department, the faculty, the university and the Illawarra region.
While in Wollongong, his love for bush walking in the wild and enormous national parks around Illawarra was legendary and contagious.
Particularly significant is that, during his headship, Prof Jackson was also known for being very active in cultivating a strong link between the department and the local media (via The Mercury) where staff could make practical contributions derived from their research or public policy interest to regional and national contemporary economic issues and debates.
A large number of the department staff still have good memories of Prof Jackson and his important contributions to their academic careers. He will be sadly missed.
Tran Van Hoa is a Honorary Professorial Fellow, University of Wollongong and Adjunct Professor, Victoria University