New Chair for CDU Foundation Board

A woman who has been a central figure of public life in the Northern Territory and in the Middle East has become Chairman of the Charles Darwin University Foundation Board.

Mrs Annette Burke has been appointed to the position following the resignation of chartered accountant Mr Allan Garraway, who was Chairman for more than five years.

The CDU Foundation Board is a conduit through which community members can support the development of the university.

The Vice-Chancellor of CDU, Professor Barney Glover, said he welcomed Mrs Burke’s appointment at a time when the Foundation was entering a particularly busy phase.

“One of our major fund-raising projects currently surrounds the redevelopment of our theatre, which will deliver a much-needed community performing arts theatre in Darwin’s north,” he said.

The project is valued at $4.5 million and the first stage of construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2014.

Professor Glover paid tribute to the outgoing Chairman. “Allan Garraway has contributed a great deal of energy and expertise to the Foundation over many years and we are truly grateful for that,” he said.

Mrs Burke is well known in the Northern Territory, having served as the Mayor of Palmerston for 10 years.

Since her retirement from local government, Mrs Burke has spent four years working in various high-profile roles in the United Arab Emirates.