The power of philanthropy

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Tags: philanthropy, winter-2011

By Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield AO

UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield

You don’t need to be a brilliant researcher or wizard teacher to be a catalyst for change and progress at UQ.

Since the University’s early days, philanthropists have been making a mark by applying foresight and generosity to challenges of all scales. In fact, as far back as 1911 at least 100 donors were helping fund equipment for the fledgling University, paving the way for transformational benefactors in the 1920s and 1930s. Among them were James and Mary Emelia Mayne who enabled – among other things – the St Lucia campus, a medical school and a UQ presence at Pinjarra Hills; TC Beirne, who funded a law school; and a group of Dramatic Society students whose collective £10 seeded the Fryer Library, which now holds more than 100,000 publications including 4,000 rare books.

As the University matured, the philanthropic tradition was cultivated by countless people with big hearts and the vast vision to imagine a long-term legacy of learning and research.

The end of the 20th century saw the rise of a new breed of philanthropist: entrepreneurial donors who will take risks that government and others decline. They want to collaborate on key project elements – such as design, governance, and leveraging of third-party funds. Often, they are alumni who attribute their own success at least partly to a UQ education. They want others to enjoy similar opportunities and – as people accustomed to seeing a return on their investments – they lend their expertise to philanthropic causes to achieve results.

UQ is privileged to have a number of outstanding partners of this ilk, including Chuck Feeney (a Cornell University alumnus), Graeme Wood, and Andrew and Jennifer Brice (all three of whom are UQ graduates).

The progress they have spurred in just a few years shows that, where the University is prepared to loosen the rigidity of our first-century business practices and work closely with benefactors, we can deliver new and better outcomes to students, high-achieving staff, and community members who need our research.

On the other hand, you do not have to be a successful business person and hands-on patron in order to make an impact. Very recent events have proven that gifts of a much more modest scale are seminal when they join a pool of targeted funds.

After disastrous floods damaged or ruined the homes and belongings of hundreds of students in January, the University appealed to alumni and friends throughout the world to support them. More than 900 people (90 percent of them alumni) responded with donations ranging from a few dollars to $100,000, swelling the total to more than $330,000 and delivering assistance to approximately 400 students. Unallocated funds are now establishing a continuing student welfare fund.

We have also established a presence in an international stronghold of university philanthropy, the United States, by incorporating The University of Queensland in America. Chaired by Dr Andrew Liveris, the 2005 UQ Alumnus of the Year who heads The Dow Chemical Company, and overseen by a board including UQ alumnus Dr Patrice Derrington, who works in Wall Street investment banking, it will enable US citizens to make tax-effective donations to UQ.

Andrew and Patrice’s service to the US foundation highlights another vital avenue for alumni and others to elevate the University’s reputation, standing and performance: volunteering. Throughout the UQ community, from the Senate to the recent biennial Alumni Book Fair, sporting clubs and student societies, volunteers lend energy and influence to support fantastic ventures in learning, research, and activities that engage and uplift local and global communities.

One of the best outcomes of last year’s Centenary celebrations was extensive contact between alumni and their alma mater. More than 10,000 people attended reunions in venues ranging from the UQ Centre, to the Cornell Club in New York, to the Sheraton Saigon.

One function of these events was to encourage alumni to articulate the University’s strategic vision. From this, it is clear that alumni know their institution’s global impact reflects on its graduates, and vice-versa. Moreover, they recognise their university will be best-placed to turbo-charge 21st century knowledge and innovation if it is fortified by alumni.

In May we launched the Global Challenges Leadership Series, which in 2011 takes in cities including Beijing, Bogota, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Shanghai, Washington DC and Yogyakarta, in addition to Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney. It is no accident that one theme of the series is the role of universities in solving global challenges. In our era, institutions with UQ’s strengths have a responsibility to make tangible contributions to global problem-solving. For this mission, we welcome reinforcement from alumni and other partners.

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