High above the hushed crowd, Rex tried to remain focused. Still, he
couldn't shake one nagging thought: he was an old dog and this was a new
trick. *** These words lay beneath a Gary Larson cartoon showing a
dog riding a unicycle on a tightrope in a circus bigtop, while juggling
balls with its front paws, swinging a hoop round its middle, balancing a
jug on its head and holding a cat in its mouth. The card with the
cartoon was sent to me by my long-time scientific colleague, Marjorie
Dunlop, in 2003, to mark my transition from Dean of Medicine, Dentistry,
and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne to Vice-Chancellor
and President of Monash University. *** From the Foreword: I had just
turned 60 and this was indeed a new trick. I started writing these
reflections three days after I completed my term [as Vice Chancellor]
at Monash University. I was entering the next phase of my life. It would
be studded with a variety of interesting and challenging part-time
activities. I thought it an appropriate time to reflect on the tricks I
have learnt both as a young dog and an old dog and the experiences I
have had in an adult life time spent in medicine, research, health
policy and higher education. *** What is the essence of leadership?
In this book, Richard Larkins, a major figure of Australian science,
medicine, and university administration, provides a rare and candid
account of a life lived in the public eye, and of the philosophy Larkins
has drawn upon to negotiate the personal and professional challenges
that life has tossed in his direction. (Series: Biography) [Subject:
Biography, Higher Education, Medicine]
