PROFESSOR Robert Greenberg may have lost his vision in his early 20s, but it has never stopped him from achieving a long list of goals.
Going on to become a global educator, an expert linguist speaking 12 languages and a Yale PhD graduate, he now joins the University of Newcastle as pro vice-chancellor (PVC) of the College of Human and Social Futures.
It was 1985, while mid-way through his postgraduate studies at Yale, the retinal degeneration he'd first been diagnosed with as a teenager progressed.
"I was already in my doctoral program and was on the pathway to losing my sight but it sort of happened more suddenly with my particular condition," he said.
Starting with the loss of his peripheral vision, it advanced to his central vision - something he hoped would happen much later.
"I had hoped the central vision piece would happen maybe in my 30s but no, it happened in my early 20s," he said.
He paused his studies for one year to gain skills required to live with his disability before returning to Yale to finish his doctorate in 1991.
"It required a bit of resilience and a not give up kind of attitude. You have ups and downs and some days I thought I'll never finish and I'll never get there. It's like a bit of a marathon," he said.
"Any doctorate is a marathon so when you have something like this happen in the middle of it, it makes it almost unimaginable, but with support I gained the confidence to plunge ahead."
"Fast forward I finished the degree in Slavic languages and was teaching for many years before getting my first leadership role. I really love teaching and research and continue to do that."
Plunging ahead, professor Greenberg went on to take positions as Dean and Professor at Hunter College of the City University of New York and for 10 years he was a Professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature at Yale University.
As well as English, professor Greenberg speaks Russian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Hebrew, French, German, Slovenian and Czech.
"It's an amazing tool. Once you learn a language, you also learn about the people, you learn about their culture, you learn about their history, the political system - a lot of doors open up for you," he said.
Before arriving in Newcastle, professor Greenberg, 62, spent 11 years as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Professor of Linguistics at The University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau.
Now he's excited to embark on a new challenge.
"I think I reached a point in that role where I had done everything I wanted to do and achieved many things for my faculty," he said.
"This opportunity arose [in Newcastle] and is very attractive to me because it has a broader portfolio, many aspects, and many different types of programs."
Just one week into his new role, he's already loving everything Newcastle has to offer and says the community is very friendly.
"I'm really enjoying it and I'm finding Novocastrians to be extremely friendly and helpful," he said.
While he's enjoying the convenience of the city, the water and the musical scene, professor Greenberg is entirely excited about what he can achieve in his new role as pro vice-chancellor.
In his position he will lead the Schools of Education, Law and Justice, Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences, and Business.
"Nearly half the students at the University of Newcastle take programs in these areas. I'm really excited to be here," he said.
"I think the college has such diversity, and my vision is to bring the four schools together. How do we identify the synergies among them? What are the opportunities for collaboration? What are the opportunities for innovation? And together, how can we make a global impact?"
"And to me, that's the challenge. I don't have all the answers. But it's something that I'm definitely going to be exploring over the first weeks and months of my tenure as PVC."
