Two University of Queensland alumni have been named Queensland Greats for their outstanding achievements in the community.
They are Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO and John Curro AM MBE.
Ms Bryce (Bachelor of Arts ’62, Bachelor of Laws ’65, Doctor of Laws honoris causa ’06) was honoured for her lifetime of public service, including as Governor of Queensland from 2003 to 2008 and as Australia’s first female Governor-General from 2008 to 2014.
Her roles have also included being a member of the National Women’s Advisory Council and Queensland Director of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
Mr Curro (Bachelor of Architecture ’56, Doctor of Music honoris causa ‘89) is the Queensland Youth Orchestra’s founder and Director of Music and has conducted the Queensland Youth Symphony since it began in 1966.
He has conducted many of Australia’s professional orchestras, and has guest-conducted the London Virtuosi, the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, the Australian and Bavarian Youth Orchestra, the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.
Another Queensland great, Australia’s first Indigenous barrister and former Wallabies Rugby union star Lloyd McDermott, studied Law at UQ before completing his degree in New South Wales.
The Queensland RSPCA, an institution with a strong relationship with UQ, was also anointed as a Queensland Great.
RSPCA Queensland president Dr Andrew Tribe (Master of Agricultural Science ’80, PhD ’13) is an alumnus and a Senior Lecturer at UQ, and the organisation’s patron, Queensland Governor Paul de Jersey AC, is also a UQ alumnus (Bachelor of Arts ‘69, Bachelor of Laws (Hons) ‘72, Doctor of Laws honoris causa ‘00).
UQ itself was named a Queensland Great in 2010, the University’s centenary year.
Contact: Mark Schroder, UQ Advancement, m.schroder@uq.edu.au, 3346 3921.
