Dr Tom Bee was incredibly passionate about science. A post-doctoral researcher who obtained a PhD at Oxford, he travelled to Australia to continue his work in developmental biology at the UNSW Lowy Cancer Research Centre.

He approached his work like he approached his life – with zeal and enthusiasm. He welcomed new people with warmth, and new experiences with gusto, and could very rarely be seen without his trademark beaming smile.

Tragically in October 2010, we lost Dr Tom Bee, at 27, to a rare genetic disorder – Ornithine Transcarbamylase Deficiency.

To honour Tom’s life, his parents, Janet and Gavin, and his brother, Jonathan established the Dr Tom Bee Travel Fund. The purpose of this Fund is to foster and strengthen research links between the UNSW Lowy Cancer Research Centre with international centres of excellence in the area of developmental biology, with a particular emphasis on developmental haematopoiesis.

The fund will support international researchers to travel to the Lowy Cancer Research Centre, and continue Tom’s important work.

Dr Bee was always up for a challenge, especially if it involved a competition! It’s no surprise that Tom’s favourite day in Sydney was running the 14km City2Surf. Tom trained hard and in 2010 he completed the race in 70.09 minutes.

To celebrate Tom and his zest for life Tom's friends and colleagues are doing something he loved. We will be running the City2Surf as the Lowy Cancer Research Centre group, affectionately known as ‘Team Tom’. Over 70 individuals have registered for the team.

Our goal is to raise $40,000 for the Dr Tom Bee Travel Fund. We will don hot pink shirts printed with his cheeky smile, making a lasting impression on the other 80,000 City2Surf participants.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the University’s philanthropic income has grown from $5.6 million in 2006 to $18.1 million in 2010. From 2009 to 2010 the number of donors to the University increased by 20 per cent.

A recent event hosted by the UNSW Chancellor, David Gonski AC and Vice-Chancellor Fred Hilmer AO, honoured nine new major donors, each having generously donated over $1 million to a number of projects at the University. Including the nine new major donors, this brings the number of distinguished million dollar plus donors to a total of 47!

“Tonight we honour some of the very important people who make this University what it is,” said Mr Gonski. “This institution could not reach the heights of success and achievement it seeks without support and involvement from committed friends of the University.”

The Vice- Chancellor commented that donor support was vital to the University’s success.

“The University is doing well but we always face challenges. What we do requires funds and donor support makes the difference. Many of our projects such as the new COFA galleries, the Tyree Energy Technologies Building along with investment in ground breaking research and in scholarships for students, are supported by philanthropic giving to UNSW,” Professor Hilmer said.

The University honoured nine individuals and organisations:

In addition to the event, this eminent group of donors are honoured and recognised in perpetuity with their names engraved on the granite wall of the Scientia Building at UNSW.

A growing tally of success emerging from landmark Australian studies to diagnose and treat mental health problems in children is being held back by a lack of public attention and funding, says a leading UNSW specialist in child psychology.

"We get kids as young as three who we know are on a path to significant problems in later life," says Professor Mark Dadds, a research director at the UNSW Child Behaviour Research Clinic.

"Most mental health problems begin in childhood and adolescence but these kids get very little attention and very little of the health dollar," Professor Dadds says. "Only eight per cent of mental health funding is spent on children but we know from ground-breaking work done right here in Australia that mental health problems are identifiable and treatable much earlier than most people think."

Professor Dadds made the call for more funding ahead of the launch of The Children's Mental Health Research Fund.

At the launch of The Children’s Mental Health Research Fund Professor Marie Bashir, Governor of New South Wales and Patron of The Children's Mental Health Research Fund stated, “The richest resource in Australia is not our minerals but our children. I believe the best investment we can make for the future of our country is in our children.”

Donations are being sought for the new fund, which is administered by the UNSW Foundation. It will support specialist staff and specific projects to improve understanding and treatments of children's mental health issues.

For more information about how you can support The Children's Mental Health Research Fund contact Xanthe Chapman on (02) 9385 7919 or email Xanthe Chapman

Ski cross racer Scott Kneller became Australia’s first World Cup gold medalist ever in this discipline with a surprise victory during the World Cup held recently in Italy.

Competing at the Innichen/San Candido resort in only his second World Cup season and going into the final with the 12th fastest qualifying time, the 21-year-old AIS/NSWIS scholarship athlete held on to cross the line merely 20-centimetres ahead of Switzerland’s Alex Fiva with American John Treller in third.

Scott's win puts him into second place on the season’s standings, just eight points behind leader Patrick Gasser from Switzerland.

Scott is in Year 2 of his Ben Lexcen Scholarship. The Ben Lexcen Sport Scholarship program provides each scholarship recipient with up to $5,000 in cash and in-kind support annually. In 22 years, 154 elite sports students have received 373 scholarships valued at more than $2million from donations.

UNSW Sport and Recreation hopes to increase the number of elite athletes at UNSW with a $700,000 fundraising campaign over the next two years.

If you are interested in learning more about opportunities to support athletes at UNSW contact Chris Lewis on (02) 9385 8344 or email Chris Lewis

For operational reasons, the University has decided that from 2011 onwards all funds donated to UNSW will be managed by the University itself. The Foundation Office will have responsibility for the administration, reporting and donor stewardship of all donated funds. In all other respects the arrangements are unchanged and all monies will continue to be utilised towards their original purpose.

By centralising this fundraising income we will achieve the following:
- Make processes consistent across the University
- Enable more effective reporting on fundraising income across UNSW
- Ensure appropriate and consistent stewardship for donors and sponsors
- Improve information available to the UNSW community about its external relationships
- Make better use of resources through centralising processes.

If you would like any further information about this, please contact Margaret Hudson, Director Advancement Services on 02 9385 8844 or m.hudson@unsw.edu.au

David Gonski AC, (Chancellor UNSW and Chairman of the UNSW Foundation Board of Directors) hosted a reception this week to thank the many UNSW current and former staff members who have donated to UNSW.

In 2009 and 2010 donations totaling over $400,000 were received from staff and former staff.

Over 100 staff and former staff have donated to UNSW funds in 2009 and 2010 - Academics, Professional & technical staff, Deans, members of the Executive Team and the Vice-Chancellor.

Guests invited to this event have contributed generously towards supporting projects of their choice including:

- Alumni Scholarship Funds for disadvantaged
students
- Research Scholarships
- The Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing
- The Australia Ensemble
- The Kingsford Legal Centre;
- The Gateway@COFA
- The Nick Waterlow Scholarship

During the reception Mr Gonski expressed his appreciation to staff and former staff, “It is always very special to meet staff who not only give of their time and expertise to UNSW, but go above and beyond to support their place of work through donations to the University.”

A guest at the reception, Professor Heiser, John Lions Chair of Computer Science at the School of Computer Science and Engineering, commented on how he and his wife established the Anita Borg Prize following Anita’s death to honour her: “a hero of my wife’s who thought the female touch was essential to make technology more humane”.

There are many ways staff can give to UNSW: through payroll deductions, one-off and recurring gifts and by leaving a gift to UNSW in their will.

For more information on Staff Giving to UNSW contact Gayle Hannan on 02 9385 2996 or email: g.hannan@unsw.edu.au

Scholarship applications open!

Many not for profit (NFP) organisations have limited financial resources to provide management training to their staff. This issue was recognised by AGSM alumni who decided to raise funds to create the AGSM Alumni Community Leader Scholarship. It enables individuals from the sector to participate in the MBA and bring the skills and knowledge they gain back to their organisation.

Hundreds of AGSM alumni have contributed to the scholarship fund over recent years. Proceeds from alumni networking events as well as individual donations have helped to build this financial resource.

The scholarship provides a unique opportunity for an individual working in the NFP sector to access the world-class teaching and research provided by the AGSM MBA program. It also allows students to learn from their peers in the corporate and government sectors, as well as share their own NFP management experiences and challenges.
The scholarship covers the costs of the entire program and in addition the recipient will also have the option to attend Executive Education programs run by the Centre for Social Impact at UNSW.

Laurel Draffen from NSW Federation of Housing Associations was awarded the scholarship in 2008 and reflects on her experience:

“My MBA studies are helping me develop and implement new business skills for the complex not-for-profit sector where building business capability is vital. The program is giving me the opportunity to take my knowledge and skills to a new level and the confidence to step up to executive level decision making. I did not expect the opportunity to complete these MBA studies to be such a life enhancing experience as well as such a significant contribution to the sector. The opportunity to network with other business professionals has been an enormously positive experience.”

The Australian School of Business is grateful to the AGSM alumni for the funds raised. It has enabled the School to establish an extremely valuable scholarship and a wonderful opportunity for a not for profit professional.

The scholarship offers full course fees to talented leaders in the not-for-profit sector to undertake a part time AGSM Executive MBA starting in 2011. Applications are open now and will close on 23 October. For more information about the scholarship contact Laura Maynard on 02 9385 5758 at the Australian School of Business.

If you would like to donate to the scholarship fund, you can do so online by clicking here.

SUPPORT THE DAVID MORRIS LIVER CANCER RESEARCH FUND

Jordan is my brother, and in February this year he lost his battle with Pseudo Myxoma Peritonei (PMP), an extremely rare form of cancer. Jordan was a man of extremes; he never did things in halves, and in doing so inspired all those around him, including me. He worked harder and played harder than anyone I’m likely to ever meet, yet he always found time for friends and family. Many who knew Jordan have spoken of his “soft side” under his tough exterior and that’s what we all loved him for- he was always brutally honest, but that came from a place of love and care.

Losing Jordan was a deeply sad time for all who loved him. I can’t help but think about the difficult battle that he went through. Yet he stayed positive and philosophical about it all.

The Event

Jordan taught me a lot in life about relationships, hard work, mental aptitude, facing my fears and pushing the limits and he’s played a massive role in making me who I am today. I’m drawing on these qualities and our memories training and competing in the City to Surf this year. The event is a 14km run from Sydney’s CBD to Bondi Beach and I’m running with and managing a team from Marist Youth Care. Last Year I finished in 1 hour 17 minutes and 46 seconds. This year, with Jordan as inspiration I’m aiming to break the hour mark.

What can you do?

In Jordan’s last weeks he worked closely with Professor David Morris, from the David Morris Liver Cancer Research Fund at UNSW. Research breakthroughs made in the past by Professor David Morris, from the UNSW Medicine Department of Surgery at St George Hospital Clinical School, will allow doctors to make a more accurate assessment of cancer patients’ prognosis and to improve their quality of life. Please consider a donation to Professor Morris' research. Through this I hope we can do our bit so others don’t have to go through the pain Jordan and all his loved ones went through.

UNSW’s national research leadership in quantum computing, climate science and population ageing has been recognised with three Centres of Excellence awarded by the Australian Research Council.

The centres will receive $58.6 million in combined funding over seven years – the best result of any university.

ARC Centres of Excellence are prestigious hubs of expertise through which high-quality researchers develop Australia's international standing in research areas of national priority.

A total of 13 centres have been announced by the ARC for 2011. UNSW is also a partner in a centre led by Macquarie University studying cognition and its disorders, through a UNSW/POWMRI team headed by Professor John Hodges.

This announcement builds on recent awards and grant success. Earlier this month three UNSW researchers won Australian Laureate Fellowships and the University topped the country in the latest round of ARC Linkage grants.

For detailed information go to the UNSW Media Release or contact Denise Knight UNSW Media Office, 9385 8920

UNSW has seen a healthy growth in philanthropic giving across the University. 2009 saw a forty per cent increase in the value of gifts and a thirty per cent increase in the number of donors to the University.

A recent event hosted by the UNSW Chancellor, David Gonski AC and Vice Chancellor Fred Hilmer AO, honoured eight new major donors, each having generously donated over $1 million to a number of projects at the University. They join the 30 distinguished million dollar plus donors who were honoured in 2009.

“Tonight we honour and stand among friends,” said Mr Gonski. “Donors to the University make a huge difference whether it is through time or money. Each of our donors contributes to the richness of this University through their involvement with UNSW.”

The Vice-Chancellor said donor support was vital to the University’s success.

“Many of our projects such as the Lowy Cancer Research Centre and the Tyree Energy Technologies Building, along with investment in ground breaking research and in scholarships for students, are supported by philanthropic giving to UNSW,” Professor Hilmer said.

The University honoured eight individuals and organisations, The Balnaves Foundation for Indigenous Medical Scholarships; the Farrell Family Foundation for the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Peter Farrell Scholarship in Business; Lady Mary Fairfax AC OBE for the David Morris Liver Cancer Research Fund; the Estate of the late Sarah Ellen Lomasney for the Australian Ireland Fund Chair in Modern Irish Studies; the Maple-Brown Family Charitable Foundation for a Rural Scholarship in Business and Indigenous Scholarship in Business; OneSteel for a Chair in Recycling Sciences and linkage grants; Qantas for a Chair in Travel & Tourism Economics and Indigenous Scholarship in Business and the U-Committee for their support since 1963 in areas around the University including works of art, facilities, student projects and fellowships.

In addition to the event, this eminent group of donors are honoured and recognised in perpetuity with their names engraved on the granite wall of the Scientia Building at UNSW.


For further information contact UNSW Foundation Office

Professor Rónán McDonald, literary critic and historian of Irish modernism, has been appointed as the Australian Ireland Fund Chair in Modern Irish Studies at the University of New South Wales.

The intention to create a Chair in Modern Irish Studies was announced at the Sydney Opera House in 1998 by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese. The Australian Ireland Fund has played a major part in the campaign ever since.

UNSW is pleased to recognise the leadership gifts made by the Australian Ireland Fund over the years by naming the Chair the Australian Ireland Fund Chair in Modern Irish Studies.

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Professor James Donald, expressed his gratitude to the Irish community and particularly the efforts of the Australian Ireland Fund for their extraordinary efforts to raise funds for the position.

"It’s been an impressive campaign across the whole [Irish Australian] community, led by Mary Lee, chair of the fundraising committee. The Chair was also made possible by a bequest from the Estate of the late Sarah Ellen Lomasney.” he said.

“I am especially pleased that we have established the Chair in a way that enhances UNSW’s research capacity and at the same time consolidates a partnership with the original John Hume Institute at University College Dublin,” Professor Donald said.

The new Institute will conduct research on modern Irish history, culture and politics and aims to foster understanding of the Irish diaspora and its contribution to the making of modern Australia.

UNSW students receive awards

"I am glad that we are continuing Ron’s support for upcoming electrical engineers.” Margaret Mackisack, wife of the late Ron Stillman.

Due to the generosity of the late Ron Stillman, UNSW was able to award the Ron Stillman scholarship to nine first year students in Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications.

Ron Stillman arrived in 1951 after he had finished an electrical trades apprenticeship in England. Not long after his arrival in Australia he started his career with the State Electricity Commission in Victoria, initially connecting small towns to the grid. He then moved to Northern Rivers County Council where he ended up as the Chief Engineer and Assistant General Manager. While there he provided support for many cadet engineers who later had interesting careers in the Electricity Supply Industry.

Later, he embarked on a PhD at Queensland University in the area of 'Risk and failure of overhead distribution systems', and moved to Brisbane to complete it. While in Brisbane he also embarked on a law degree and wrote a book with Professor Carolyn Sappideen, 'Liability for electrical accidents: Risk, Negligence and Tort with special reference to the electrical supply industry', which was published in 1995.

In 1997 he moved to Sydney and was appointed an Adjunct Professor at UNSW where he continued his lecturing work, consulting activities and research in electrical safety and power system reliability. He was particularly involved in the engineering ethics course at UNSW. He published many papers and gave many invited lectures while at UNSW and had a very substantial international reputation in his fields of research. He completed his legal studies and graduated LLB at 75; then he undertook a Master of Laws degree at the age of 79 at the University of Western Sydney with the subject being 'Legal liability of public utility service providers for negligence and safety.'

He always sought to inspire others and was a role-model to promote innovative education to advance the discipline, the profession and an informed society at large.

“Much like Dr Stillman, I am concerned by safety in the electrical industry. After working in KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) for a time and being surrounded by electric cookers I have realized first-hand the enormity of potential dangers which result from surges and faults. Thus the improvements which electrical engineers could make in this area can potentially save lives.”
Thomas Lozanov – 1st year Electrical Engineering student and recipient of the Ron Stillman Scholarship

My sister Vicki and her disease

When my dad called to say that my sister Vicki was ‘riddled with cancer’ back in August 2007, I just couldn’t believe him. How could I? She was only 37, very active, didn’t smoke, didn’t drink and ate healthily. She only had a dull pain in her lower abdomen, yet she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Bowel Cancer, the worst kind. She didn’t think anything was wrong.

For the next 18 months she went through so many horrendous operations and chemo with the constant hope that she would see her 10 year-old daughter and 6 year-old son grow up. Vic was fiercely independent, hated to be told what to do and cancer took away her most prized possession - control of her own life.

Our decision to climb Mt Kilimanjaro

To raise money for research into cancer my fiancee,Tim, and I have decided to climb Mt Kilimanjaro.

So off to Tanzania we go on the 20th December for a 7 day trek to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. It’s going to be a hard slog with altitude sickness claiming many. Quite difficult to train too where we live in Singapore with the highest point being 166 metres. We will be climbing 6000 metres for Mount Kilimanjaro!

Where the money will go

During this time in my sister’s life, Professor David Morris offered a chance that many could not. A chance to not only extend her life but a possibility to free her body of cancer. It was a chance worth taking. Vicki had the utmost respect for her Professor, she knew that he was going to try everything he could to keep her alive and she admired him for that. It was her desire that any monies raised in her name be given to Professor David Morris’ Research Fund.

So please give generously to support us on our big climb and ensure that this world-class research continues.
Donate now to the David Morris Liver Cancer Research Fund

Thank you,
Sue

David Gonski AC, (Chancellor UNSW and Chairman of the UNSW Foundation Board of Directors) hosted a reception this week to thank the many UNSW current and former staff members who have donated to UNSW.

Over 80 staff and former staff from all areas of the University attended the inaugural reception on Wednesday night in the Vice-Chancellor’s Japanese Garden. Guests invited to this event have contributed generously towards supporting projects of their choice including:

During the reception, Mr Gonski expressed his appreciation to staff and former staff; “Staff giving to UNSW is enormously valuable not only because of the financial support it provides but also because of the commitment it demonstrates to the vital work of the University.”

Ms Jenny Bott, Chief Executive of the UNSW Foundation was thrilled that the University was acknowledging our current and former staff donors, “it is important at this time to recognise the donations we have received from current and former staff. They are able to support in many ways, through payroll deductions, one-off or recurring gifts and bequests. In the past year donations by staff to UNSW have increased by 58%.”

Bob Zehner, Senior Associate Dean Faculty of Built Environment was at the reception and commented that “UNSW staff support the university in many ways, and it’s good to hear that more are now taking advantage of the Workplace Giving program. In my case, I’ve been giving to the Urban and Regional Planning Award at FBE. Being able to contribute through Workplace Giving has meant that I’ve been able to target my giving, and there’s no doubt it adds up over time.”

For more information on Workplace Giving, contact Gayle Hannan at 02 9385 52996.

Contact: UNSW Foundation | 02 9385 3202 | unswfoundation@unsw.edu.au

David Gonski AC, (Chancellor UNSW and Chairman of the UNSW Foundation Board of Directors), the Gonski Foundation and UNSW were honoured last night at an event hosted in Melbourne by the Business/Higher Education Round Table (B-HERT).

David received the “Award for Outstanding Philanthropic Support of Higher Education 2009”, and was cited as having “demonstrated extraordinary leadership in philanthropy especially in relation to the establishment of the Centre for Social Impact. His energy and drive in encouraging philanthropy in others is unsurpassed.”


Michael Crouch AO, was honoured with a high commendation in the same category. Michael has been involved with the Australian School of Business for over ten years firstly as an advisory board member to the then Faculty of Commerce and Economics, and more recently as the School’s largest donor helping to found the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

B-HERT is a not-for-profit organisation established in 1990 to strengthen the relationship between business and higher education. The purpose of the award is to recognise philanthropic support for higher education and to draw attention to the key role it plays in enabling the delivery of innovative programs, as well as leveraging further support.

On receiving the awards for UNSW, Ms Jennifer Bott, Chief Executive of the UNSW Foundation said that she was thrilled to accept the awards on behalf of David, Michael and UNSW. “David and Michael are both very worthy of this award and it is a fitting acknowledgement of their tremendous contributions to philanthropy in Australia and the higher education sector.”

The keynote address at the Awards ceremony was given by The Hon Julia Gillard MP, (Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Minister for Education, Minister for Social Inclusion). The Awards were attended by many guests from business. higher education, research and government organisations.

Contact: UNSW Foundation | 02 9385 3202 | unswfoundation@unsw.edu.au

In this our 60th year, UNSW is publicly recognising our major donors in a number of ways. Last week, major donor names were engraved on the granite wall at the entrance of the John Niland Scientia Building.

Donors to the University contribute significantly to the enhancement of life in our community. The impact of donors’ generosity is evident throughout the University, from improved infrastructure to increased access to transformative knowledge for students.

Our donors’ generosity has supported an extensive range of activities at the University to name just a few:

The wall includes the names of many of our distinguished individual, foundation and corporate donors. These include: AMP, Robin Crawford, Dr Michael Crouch AO, Cure for Life Foundation, Freehills, Fujitsu Australia, Gilbert + Tobin, Gonski Foundation, Gary Johnston, Leighton Holdings, The Lowy Foundation, Macquarie Group, Macquarie Group Foundation, Mitsubishi Development, National Australia Bank, Warwick Negus, NSW Minerals Council, Oncology Children’s Foundation, The Petre Foundation, PricewaterHouseCoopers, Dr Zhengrong Shi, St John of God Health Care, Thomas Foundation, The Tokyo Foundation, The Trainor Family, Sir William Tyree OBE, U Committee, UBS Australia Foundation and three Estates.

Contact: UNSW Foundation | 02 9385 3202 | unswfoundation@unsw.edu.au