A fitting finale

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Tags: Chancellor, Sir Llew Edwards, winter-2009

Former Chancellor Sir Llew Edwards presiding over his last Senate meeting

He has had students high five him, take pictures on stage and offer bear hugs, but retiring Chancellor Sir Llew Edwards AC was lost for words when one graduate took to the podium in December.

Sir Llew’s son David was a surprise addition to a Faculty of Arts and Social and Behavioural Sciences ceremony on December 3, fulfilling a journey that had been 20 years in the making.

Now the Queensland Director of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Mr Edwards completed a dual Bachelor of Economics/Bachelor of Arts in 1989, but was more interested in seeing the world than donning a cap and gown.

“I always promised my parents that I would complete my university studies prior to travelling abroad so as soon as my final exams were over, I was off – attending a ceremony in 1989 was certainly not a high priority,” Mr Edwards said.

“With Dad’s retirement as Chancellor, I thought it would be a nice surprise for him to present one of his children with their degree at one of his final graduation ceremonies.”
Mr Edwards thanked staff from the Vice-Chancellor’s office who made the surprise possible and ensured it went off without a hitch.

Sir Llew presided over his last graduation as Chancellor on December 15, having shaken the hands of approximately 80,000 graduates as part of his formal duties spanning 16 years. He announced in November that he would not seek reappointment when his fifth consecutive term as Chancellor expired in February.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield said no accolades could do justice to his contributions, which included chairing UQ’s Senate, presiding at graduations and representing UQ at events at home and abroad.

“In an era when the relevance of many time-honoured institutions has been questioned, Sir Llew has single-handedly magnified the relevance of the office of UQ Chancellor,” Professor Greenfield said.

“Without taking a day’s pay in almost 16 years as Chancellor, he has built enormous goodwill not only for UQ but also for Australian higher education at home and internationally.”

In honour of his special place in UQ history, the landmark GPN4 Building (featured in the Summer 2008 issue), has officially been named the Sir Llew Edwards building.

By Fiona Kennedy and Cameron Pegg

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