Page 18 - Luce 2012

A l umni News

Deirdre Exell Pirro attended Melbourne
Church of England Girls’ Grammar
before studying at the University of
Melbourne where she was a non-
resident student at Janet Clarke Hall
in 1965. Graduating with honours in
Arts and Law, she assisted Prof Ronald
Sackville for the Australian Research
Council on a project which helped to
change the laws relating to unmarried
mothers. She then taught in the Law Faculty for a short time
before deciding to take a round-the-world cruise: a life changing
experience as she married the ship’s Italian captain and settled
in Florence, where she now lives and works as an international
lawyer and freelance writer and journalist.
On settling in Italy, Dierdre initially believed that she would
be unemployable, a classic ‘square peg in a round hole’ as she
was a lawyer trained in the common law tradition in a country
governed by civil law. She was, however, soon working for
Professor Mauro Cappelletti on the Ford Foundation-funded
As College students make the most of their membership of ‘Access to Justice Project’ at the
Melbourne University Sport, alumnus Mr Thomas Lutwyche European University. When the
(2005) is ensuring that all of the colleges engage in a wide project finished, she set up a
ranging, well organised intercollegiate sporting competition. Tom, legal documentation and broking
whose academic and professional focus shifted from the corporate company and began working
world to sports administration fuelled partly by a personal interest for the Italian Supreme Court,
in sport, writes that he is ‘responsible for delivering the College preparing case law abstracts for
Sport program on behalf of Melbourne University Sport, as well its data bank on environmental
as other jobs including administering several on-campus sporting law, and for the Italian National
programs and assisting with managing the University Games Research Council (CNR) as a legal
teams. In 2012 I returned to study to undertake a Master of Sports editor and translator.
Management at Deakin University whilst continuing to work
and gain experience in the field. Outside of work I’ve continued Since 1988, Dierdre has been
to pursue my love for sport, representing Melbourne University the International Relations Officer
Blacks in the VT League (Victorian Touch League) and have been for the International Court of the Environment Foundation in
elected President of the Club ongoing since 2012. I would quietly Rome, aiming at establishing a world environmental court.
one day like to see JCH take home a sporting title!’ Through her work with ICEF, she was invited to become a
founding judge of the International Court of Environmental
Having noted the role of books in our last edition, writing and Arbitration and Conciliation with chambers in Mexico City
publishing continue to attract our alumni. Dr Judi Walters (1994) and San Sebastian (Spain) and she is also the delegate for
emailed the Records Office: ‘At the moment I am working for the International Alliance of Women at the Coalition for the
CSIRO Publishing and The Uni of Melb as a freelance scientific International Criminal Court.
editor - I’ve been doing this for nearly 10 years since I graduated
with my doctorate ... while raising two young children. It’s great to Having always written academically for her job, she decided, in
ALumni New
be able to use both my scientific and editing training and be able
2005, to try her hand at writing non-fiction professionally and to
to have flexible hours but maintain a career path as well!’.
experiment with life-writing and biography. Since its inception,
she has been a columnist for The Florentine, Tuscany’s English-
language newspaper. Her column, Italian Sketches, served as a
Elsewhere, Ms Cate Blake (2003) is
working as Managing Editor for Penguin
springboard for her book, Italian Sketches: The Faces of Modern
Books Australia, searching out new
Italy published by The Florentine Press in 2009. As a member of
the Chartered Institute of Journalists, she also writes for magazines
talent in the literary landscape and
and newspapers in Italy and abroad. Dierdre is currently
working with established authors
working on a new book, again related to another of the many
including our Artist in Residence
unfathomable mysteries of her adopted country.
Alice Pung.

18 LUCE Number 11 2012