Vale Emeritus Professor Barbara Hayes, OAM, Foundation Head of School of Nursing, JCU

Our Wonderful and Much Loved Emeritus Professor Barbara Hayes OAM passed away peacefully yesterday morning in the Palliative Care Unit at the Townsville Hospital.

We were all very privileged to share so much of her amazing life and will always remember her with admiration and appreciation.

Assoc. Prof. Lee Stewart, Head of School 

It is with great sadness that, on behalf of the Faculty, I wish to  acknowledge the death of Emeritus Professor Barbara Hayes OAM, who passed away peacefully at the Palliative Care Unit of The Townsville Hospital.

Emeritus Professor Barbara Hayes OAM was the Foundation Head of the Department of Nursing Sciences (1989-1997) and Foundation Professor of Nursing Sciences (1989-2006). Barbara’s key legacy in both of these roles was a collaborative and collegial approach to health workforce development that transcended professional divides. Most importantly, Barbara brought the academic side to nursing and midwifery, holding Fellowships with the Royal College of Nursing, The Australian and New Zealand College of Mental Health Nursing and the Australian College of Tropical Medicine. As Emeritus Professor, Barbara was admired as a passionate and active researcher and supervisor to the end.

At its establishment, the Department of Nursing was the first undergraduate health science Department at James Cook University, and the first University School of Nursing in the tropics in Australia. As such, Barbara’s contribution helped shape the cultural foundation of what we now refer to as the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Molecular Sciences, particularly our rare collegiate and cooperative relations. It was a privilege to have worked alongside Barbara, and she will be remembered with great warmth by all who knew her. 

Professor Ian Wronski, Pro Vice Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine, Health & Molecular Sciences