Ron McCallum
Encyclopedia
Professor Ronald Clive McCallum, AO
(b. 1948) is an Australia
n legal academic. He is an expert in labour law
, and has served as a Professor and Dean of Law at the University of Sydney
. He is the first totally blind
person to be appointed to a full professorship in any subject at any university in Australia or New Zealand
, as well as the first to become a Dean of Law in these countries.
ten weeks premature and weighing only three pounds. He was diagnosed with retrolental fibroplasia. At the time, treating this required placing the baby in a humidicrib with uncontrolled oxygen. While this prevented McCallum from dying, it meant that he permanently lost his sight.
His father, Patrick McCallum, who had suffered from post-traumatic stress due to his participation in World War II
, died during McCallum's childhood. He was thus raised by his mother, Edna McCallum, along with his two brothers in the Melbourne suburb of Hampton
, in relatively poor conditions. He attended schools for the blind, where it became apparent that he was intellectually gifted.
At age 37, McCallum married Mary Crock, a graduate from the University of Melbourne and now Professor of Law at the University of Sydney. They have two sons and a daughter.
McCallum's hobbies include playing the flute, reading, cooking and meditation.
On 25 January 2011, he was declared the 2011 Senior Australian of the Year
.
. The only member of his family to finish Year 12, McCallum achieved outstanding results, and was accepted to study law at Monash University
. Though he had originally planned to be a history teacher, he was encouraged by his mother to try law for a year. He studied through other students reading aloud to him or by listening to tapes.
While at university, McCallum studied labour law
. He has said that, within the first few weeks of the course, "suddenly the law made sense and my life made sense". He graduated from Monash Law School
with a Bachelor of Jurisprudence in 1970, and a Bachelor of Laws
in 1972. He later pursued graduate studies in Canada at the Queen's University Faculty of Law, achieving his LL.M. in 1974.
in Canada and Duke University
in the United States. While in North America, he was appointed to the National Academy of Arbitrators. In this role, he has participated in five worldwide comparative labour law studies which have been published in what is now titled the Comparative Labour Law and Policy Journal.
In January 1993, he was appointed the foundation Blake Dawson Waldron Professor of Industrial Law at Sydney University. Nine years later, he commenced a five-year term as Dean of Law. McCallum is the first totally blind person to be appointed to a full professorship in any field at any university in Australasia. He is also the first totally blind person to be appointed Dean of a Law School in Australia and New Zealand.
McCallum is the inaugural President of the Australian Labour Law Association, and the Asian regional Vice-President of the International Society for Labour and Social Security Law. He has also done extensive work for the blind as the Chair of Radio for the Print Handicapped of New South Wales Co-operative Ltd, a company that operates radio 2RPH, which reads newspapers and magazines for blind and for other print handicapped listeners over the air. Since 2006, he has been a member of the Board of Vision Australia Pty Ltd, and in November 2006 he was appointed as one of the two Deputy-Chairs of this Board. He has received a Centenary Medal for his work, and in 2006 was made an Officer in the Order of Australia
.
McCallum made headlines in 2005 by his criticism of John Howard
's government's WorkChoices
legislation, a policy he claimed was fundamentally flawed.
McCallum retired from his position as Dean of Sydney Law School in 2007. However he has continued working at the Law School in his position of Professor of Labour Law.
In 2008, McCallum was elected to the first Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
of the United Nations
which monitors compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
. In February 2009, he was appointed inaugural Rapporteur
to the Convention and in October was elected Chair of the Committee. He was reelected to the Committee in 2010 and remains as Chair.
McCallum has been a Don't DIS my ABILITY
http://dontdismyability.com.au ambassador for four years
On 7 December 2010, Professor McCallum commenced his consultancy at HWL Ebsworth Lawyers.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(b. 1948) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n legal academic. He is an expert in labour law
Labour law
Labour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...
, and has served as a Professor and Dean of Law at the University of Sydney
Sydney Law School
Sydney Law School is the law faculty of the University of Sydney and is regarded as one of the most prestigious institutions of legal education in Australia and the Asia Pacific. Located in the main Camperdown campus of the University, with some operations at the St...
. He is the first totally blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
person to be appointed to a full professorship in any subject at any university in Australia or New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, as well as the first to become a Dean of Law in these countries.
Personal life
Ron McCallum was born in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
ten weeks premature and weighing only three pounds. He was diagnosed with retrolental fibroplasia. At the time, treating this required placing the baby in a humidicrib with uncontrolled oxygen. While this prevented McCallum from dying, it meant that he permanently lost his sight.
His father, Patrick McCallum, who had suffered from post-traumatic stress due to his participation in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, died during McCallum's childhood. He was thus raised by his mother, Edna McCallum, along with his two brothers in the Melbourne suburb of Hampton
Hampton, Victoria
Hampton is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 14 km south east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Hampton had a population of 11,825.Hampton is located in a wealthy bayside area of Melbourne, wedged between the...
, in relatively poor conditions. He attended schools for the blind, where it became apparent that he was intellectually gifted.
At age 37, McCallum married Mary Crock, a graduate from the University of Melbourne and now Professor of Law at the University of Sydney. They have two sons and a daughter.
McCallum's hobbies include playing the flute, reading, cooking and meditation.
On 25 January 2011, he was declared the 2011 Senior Australian of the Year
Australian of the Year
Since 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual...
.
Education
His last four years of schooling were spent at St Bede's College in MentoneMentone, Victoria
Mentone is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Kingston...
. The only member of his family to finish Year 12, McCallum achieved outstanding results, and was accepted to study law at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
. Though he had originally planned to be a history teacher, he was encouraged by his mother to try law for a year. He studied through other students reading aloud to him or by listening to tapes.
While at university, McCallum studied labour law
Labour law
Labour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...
. He has said that, within the first few weeks of the course, "suddenly the law made sense and my life made sense". He graduated from Monash Law School
Monash University Faculty of Law
Monash University Faculty of Law, or Monash Law School, is the law school of Monash University in Melbourne, Victoria. Established in 1963, it offers the LLB, J.D., LLM, S.J.D., LLD and PhD degrees in law. It has been ranked as one of the top 20 law schools in the world...
with a Bachelor of Jurisprudence in 1970, and a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
in 1972. He later pursued graduate studies in Canada at the Queen's University Faculty of Law, achieving his LL.M. in 1974.
Professional career
Upon graduating, he went into academia, becoming a law lecturer at Monash. He became increasingly well known for his work on labour law, and has published 10 books on the topic, as well as numerous chapters, journal articles and papers. He was invited to teach at Osgoode Hall Law SchoolOsgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...
in Canada and Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in the United States. While in North America, he was appointed to the National Academy of Arbitrators. In this role, he has participated in five worldwide comparative labour law studies which have been published in what is now titled the Comparative Labour Law and Policy Journal.
In January 1993, he was appointed the foundation Blake Dawson Waldron Professor of Industrial Law at Sydney University. Nine years later, he commenced a five-year term as Dean of Law. McCallum is the first totally blind person to be appointed to a full professorship in any field at any university in Australasia. He is also the first totally blind person to be appointed Dean of a Law School in Australia and New Zealand.
McCallum is the inaugural President of the Australian Labour Law Association, and the Asian regional Vice-President of the International Society for Labour and Social Security Law. He has also done extensive work for the blind as the Chair of Radio for the Print Handicapped of New South Wales Co-operative Ltd, a company that operates radio 2RPH, which reads newspapers and magazines for blind and for other print handicapped listeners over the air. Since 2006, he has been a member of the Board of Vision Australia Pty Ltd, and in November 2006 he was appointed as one of the two Deputy-Chairs of this Board. He has received a Centenary Medal for his work, and in 2006 was made an Officer in the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
.
McCallum made headlines in 2005 by his criticism of John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
's government's WorkChoices
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
legislation, a policy he claimed was fundamentally flawed.
McCallum retired from his position as Dean of Sydney Law School in 2007. However he has continued working at the Law School in his position of Professor of Labour Law.
In 2008, McCallum was elected to the first Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is one of the human rights bodies in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations. It is tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities...
of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
which monitors compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities...
. In February 2009, he was appointed inaugural Rapporteur
Rapporteur
Rapporteur is used in international and European legal and political contexts to refer to a person appointed by a deliberative body to investigate an issue or a situation....
to the Convention and in October was elected Chair of the Committee. He was reelected to the Committee in 2010 and remains as Chair.
McCallum has been a Don't DIS my ABILITY
Don't DIS my ABILITY
Don’t DIS my ABILITY is an educational campaign in New South Wales , Australia. The project is supported by the 's , to celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities....
http://dontdismyability.com.au ambassador for four years
On 7 December 2010, Professor McCallum commenced his consultancy at HWL Ebsworth Lawyers.