McClelland is delighted to announce the appointment of a new Board Member, Associate Professor Michael-Shawn Fletcher. Michael-Shawn is a descendant of the Wiradjuri. He is a Director of Research Capability at the Indigenous Knowledge Institute and the Associate Dean (Indigenous) in the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne.
As is a geographer, Dr Fletcher is interested in the long-term human-environment interactions. His research group focusses on understanding how landscapes evolve through time using microfossils stored in sediments.
Chair of the McClelland Board, the Hon Simon Crean, says Dr Fletcher brings to McClelland a high level of expertise in, and understanding of, some of the major issues facing mainstream cultural organisations in Australia today.
“Michael’s recent research has a particular emphasis on how Indigenous burning has shaped the Australian landscape and how Indigenous knowledge needs to be meaningfully incorporated into landscape management to tackle many of the environmental challenges we face today.
“As Australia’s premier gallery presenting art and sculpture with nature, McClelland has a strong commitment to raising awareness of and celebrating First Nations Peoples' culture and wisdom through our public programming.
“We are confident Michael will play a significant role in helping McClelland achieve ongoing success,” Mr Crean said.
Dr Fletcher joins existing Board Members The Hon Simon Crean; Matt Healy LLB/BA, MAICD; The Hon Stephen Charles AO QC; Jon Clements; Lisa Roet; John Young Zerunge AM; Shireen Jahan; Dr Rory Hyde; Dr Gillian Kay; Ian Davis OAM; Michael Wise QC.
Michael’s interests are in the long-term interactions between humans, climate, disturbance, and vegetation at local, regional, and global scales. His current work involves developing and integrating high-resolution palaeoenvironmental records from across the Southern Hemisphere using multiple proxies, including microfossil, charcoal, geochemical, and isotopic analyses to provide comprehensive reconstructions of environmental change.
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