Healthcare trailblazer leaves powerful legacy

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Tags: philanthropy, physiotherapy, scholarships, summer-2011

The last Ailsa Stubbs-Brown leaves a powerful legacy with a $1.3m endowment for physiotherapy and medicine scholarships

Physiotherapy and medical students at The University of Queensland will benefit thanks to the foresight and compassion of the late Mrs Ailsa Stubbs-Brown (nee Munro), one of UQ’s first physiotherapy graduates.

Mrs Stubbs-Brown’s generous $1.3 million bequest will establish two perpetual endowment funds to support the Ailsa Munro Physiotherapy Student Scholarship and, in memory of her late husband and respected orthopaedic surgeon, the T.V Stubbs-Brown Medical Student Scholarship.

Part of the first group to graduate from UQ’s newly established physiotherapy course in 1941, Mrs Stubbs-Brown made an impact in the field, running her own private practice from 1955 to 1973. She worked at hospitals in Queensland and the UK, including the Nambour General Hospital, where she was employed as its first full-time physiotherapist and was instrumental in developing its physiotherapy department.

A trailblazer in the field, Mrs Stubbs-Brown was elected as President of the Australian Physiotherapy Association Queensland branch in 1973 – the first physiotherapist to fill a post traditionally held by a medical practitioner.

Mrs Stubbs-Brown remained closely connected to the University, working as a lecturer, demonstrator and clinical supervisor for nearly 30 years. Up until her passing in January last year, Mrs Stubbs-Brown continued to take an active interest in physiotherapy research undertaken at the University, donating more than $100,000 to various projects in the past decade.

Mrs Stubbs-Brown’s generous bequest for physiotherapy scholarships is the first of its kind in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Services, and shows her determination to continue making a positive influence on the field and a real difference to its students and the wider community.

By Nhi Pham

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