Last week I had the chance to formally thank Dr Tamara Cumming for her incredible contribution to early childhood reserach at Charles Sturt University. Here is what I sent to my colleagues at the time she moved from CSU to commence working at Macquarie University:
Since we are not together to farewell Tamara, I wanted to echo our Head of School's “tribute to Tamara’s many contributions to the life of our School, Faculty and university, and her many achievements”. I agree that “She’s had a stellar run here at CSU.”
Many of you will know of Tamara’s efforts in keeping us connected through our regular morning teas (her annual goal on her EDRS). I hope that someone is able to take on this important role. However, not everyone will know of Tamara’s significant leadership of early childhood research across the university.
A number of years ago Tamara initiated the development of the Early Childhood Research Group as a result of her strong personal research in the field and also her significant mentoring and connections throughout the university and world. At the time, the rules were that she was not allowed to lead the group because she was not a professor. I was honoured that she asked me to walk alongside her in this role as well as during resulting exciting opportunities (including the Early Childhood Voices 2020 conference, Sturt Scheme success etc.). Tamara also has competently nurtured many new researchers as HDR coordinator for the School. She has been “professorial” in her many leadership roles over the past 8 years. I certainly will miss her, but know that her legacy will continue. Thank you Tamara and best wishes for your exciting future. We look forward to ongoing collaborations and connections.
