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<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Dear community psychology colleagues, students, fellow travellers and friends</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Apologies for spamming you, but
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(23, 78, 134); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"><b>we need
</b></span><span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(47, 85, 151); background-color: yellow;"><b>your urgent support to help us save Australia’s last Community Psychology Masters degree.</b></span><span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(47, 85, 151);"><b> </b></span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(47, 85, 151);"><b>Last week we were shocked to learn that Victoria University proposes to close the 30-year old Master of Applied Psychology (Community Psychology)
at the end of 2024. The proposed decision is open for consultation until Monday 16 October at 5pm (yes, an ominous sign!). </b></span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(47, 85, 151);"><b> </b></span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(47, 85, 151);">As this is the only course of its type in Australia, there are fundamentally different implications for abandoning this course
compared to closing other psychology courses that students can complete elsewhere. The cessation of this course places in jeopardy:</span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 114, 196);">The careers of Australian community psychologists, including many VU graduates, because their chosen field’s Australian Health
Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) status as one of 9 endorsed areas of psychological practice will likely be lost </span></li><li style="line-height: 15.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 114, 196);">
<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 114, 196);">The diversity of Australian psychological practice and its capacity to comprehensively address some of the most serious pressures
and mental health challenges across the Australian population (e.g., mental health impacts associated with racism, gender-based violence, misinformation and community polarisation, climate change and related disasters, social isolation and loneliness, community
responses to pandemics, collective trauma and social injustice)</span></li><li style="line-height: 15.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 114, 196);">
<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 114, 196);">Victoria University’s local, national, and international reputation in psychology and as a champion of higher education in Melbourne’s
West.</span></li></ul>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(47, 85, 151);">Support letters are welcome by next Monday. A paragraph or two will be fine, especially if you have first-hand experience of
the VU Masters as a student, graduate, supervisor, employer, colleague.... For context, I’ve attached some of the international responses that are flowing in.</span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 84, 106);">The VU PhD students have also set up a</span><span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(5, 99, 193);"><u><a href="https://www.change.org/p/stop-closure-of-the-only-master-of-community-psychology-in-aus?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_37682663_en-AU%3A8&recruiter=164561249&recruited_by_id=f8a46653-b130-48e1-88a3-94de42a311b8&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=share_for_starters_page&share_bandit_exp=initial-37682663-en-AU" target="_blank" id="OWA389ba572-d6ec-92a5-2ba9-53a675211797" class="OWAAutoLink" title="Protected by Outlook: https://www.change.org/p/stop-closure-of-the-only-master-of-community-psychology-in-aus?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_37682663_en-AU%3A8&recruiter=164561249&recruited_by_id=f8a46653-b130-48e1-88a3-94de42a311b8&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=share_for_starters_page&share_bandit_exp=initial-37682663-en-AU. Click or tap to follow the link." rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="27" style="margin: 0px;">petition
on Change.org</a></u></span><span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(36, 36, 36);">. that they'd love you to sign and share. </span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(47, 85, 151);">Please send letters to:</span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Jessica Town</span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Senior Advisor, Strategic Projects</span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Deputy Vice-Chancellor Higher Education, Victoria University</span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">E:
</span><span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(5, 99, 193);"><u><a href="mailto:jessica.town@vu.edu.au" id="OWA29cc4630-43cc-83e4-d9fe-bebd12624171" class="OWAAutoLink" data-linkindex="25" style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">jessica.town@vu.edu.au</a></u></span><span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">And cc the Vice-Chancellor, Adam.Shoemaker@vu.edu.au and the Chancellor, Steve Bracks at gov.sec@vu.edu.au</span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: red;">Please note the consultation closes on 16 October at 5pm.</span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 84, 106);"> </span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 84, 106);">Please pass the word onto others.</span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 84, 106);"> </span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 84, 106);">Many thanks for your support.</span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 84, 106);"> </span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Corbel, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 84, 106);">Best regards,</span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Corbel, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 84, 106);">Heather</span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Corbel, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(68, 84, 106);"><b>Heather Gridley OAM FAPS</b></span></p>
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<span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Corbel, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 84, 106);"><i>(</i></span><span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Corbel, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(68, 84, 106);"><b><i>Disclaimer:</i></b></span><span style="letter-spacing: normal; font-family: Corbel, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(68, 84, 106);"><i> As
many of you know, I coordinated and taught in this program for many years, and more recently have provided placement supervision to its students and professional supervision to its graduates. But I am no longer employed by the University so I share this SOS
as a community and counselling psychologist with a long-standing and profound respect for the special position, values and contributions of Victoria University in Melbourne's West for more than a century via its 'parent' post-secondary education institutions,
and for the commitment of Psychology staff in maintaining this unique 'niche' program against the neoliberal tide.)</i></span></p>
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