Statistician and educator

Recognised in the Australia Day 2024 Honours List, Grammar Woman, Professor Helen MacGillivray (Anderson, 1967), was made a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for her significant service to mathematics and statistics education.

Helen always knew she loved numbers and data, but as a student at Girls Grammar, she held a wide range of interests.

‘At BGGS in the 1960s, my classmates and I came from many different backgrounds, but the BGGS culture was that girls could do anything, to find and build on our strengths, and to extend and develop our interests. My loves were English, Physics, Maths, Drama and Debating. Everything was hand-written of course, and when I won the Betty Woolcock Cup (for writing), there were so many type errors in the magazine print of it from my handwriting that amendments had to be added.

‘Gymnastics was compulsory and my friends would call out “use your physics, Helen”. The external Senior exams were based on two years of work and were invigilated by external supervisors. I still remember one invigilator shelling peas while we did our exam.’

During her time at university, Helen discovered a passion for statistics. As her career progressed, she found joy in sharing this love with others.

‘For me and others, we were the very first in our families to go to university, and I initially chose to do Physics and Maths, despite a campaign by engineering to attract girls. I got an honours degree and university medal in Mathematics, but it was Statistics that captivated me with its real-world problem-solving and importance to humanity and across so many disciplines.’

‘My PhD was part-time because I was asked to teach. For 40 years, I taught statistics in engineering, science, mathematics, education, IT, pharmacy, MBA, specialising in large classes, and statistics majors from first year to honours. At Queensland University of Technology (QUT) I set up double degrees with engineering, IT, business, education and science and delighted in seeing students go on to be leaders, including in data science, financial analysis, and games design.’

After discovering her affinity for teaching, Helen said she deeply enjoyed helping students find meaning in data.

‘I loved working with other disciplines and students to improve the learning of statistical thinking, and especially liked working with students on data they’d collected on issues they wanted to investigate.’

Always up for a challenge, Helen found herself a pioneer in many endeavours.

‘I was the first female to teach in UQ core engineering courses, and yes, I was an object of curiosity. One of the funniest reactions I remember was being asked by journalism students: how could I have chosen to do maths in 1968?

‘On the Australian Research Council, I chaired reviews of key centres and special research centres. I was the first female President of the Australian Statistical Society, a first Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow, a finalist in the Australian Awards for University Teaching, and President of the International Association for Statistical Education.

‘My nurturing of student learning led to overseas visits, and an award-winning university-wide learning support centre. I then became President of the International Statistical Institute, only the second female in its 138 years, the first Chair of the UN Global Network for Statistical Training, and Editor of an International Journal for Statistics and Data Science Teaching. For 20 years, I also worked with wonderful teachers on curricula, resources, assessment and professional development, and school students in my MathX and Maths Futures programs.’

Helen said it is a deep love of learning that brings her the most reward in her work, and optimism for the future. In speaking with the Moreton Daily after becoming a Member of the Order of Australia, she said, ‘I have always loved watching people learn and rejoiced in their strengths and progress. As a grandmother to seven, I hope that they, and all their generation, enjoy diverse and rich learning and development as their own special individuals.’