UQ alumni and donors named as Queensland Greats

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has recognised the achievements of prominent University of Queensland alumni Dr Sallyanne Atkinson AO and Professor Adéle Green AC for their long-term dedication to the community.

They were among six Queensland Greats named at a Queensland Week ceremony that also included philanthropists Dr Patrick Corrigan AM and Ms Win Schubert who are both valued donors to the UQ Art Museum.

UQ Provost and Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Max Lu, who was a Queensland Greats recipient in 2013, said Dr Atkinson and Professor Green’s impact on the state had been significant.

“Dr Atkinson was elected as Brisbane’s first female Lord Mayor in 1985 and as a community leader,  she has made an outstanding contribution to Queensland in government, business, sport, international trade, the arts and the community over 40 years,” Professor Lu said.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1967 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from UQ in 2007.

Professor Lu said that Professor Green had been one of the first researchers to address the skin cancer epidemic in Queensland.

“She played a crucial role in convincing Australians that wearing sunscreen helps prevent skin cancer, with regular use halving the risk of melanoma,” he said.

Professor Green was the recipient of a number of accolades in 2013 that included being a Queensland finalist in the Australian of the Year Awards, the Overall Winner of the Westpac Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence Awards, and also received the Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Excellence Award from UQ.

She was awarded a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from UQ in 1976, and a PhD in 1984.

Dr Corrigan is one of Australia’s most prolific art collectors and patrons whose love of Australian art, books, photography, sport and music has led to 40 years of philanthropic contributions to regional, state and national institutions.

Win Schubert is a philanthropist and former gallerist who has made a significant contribution to the arts in Queensland.

Other recipients of the Queensland Greats award include Fred Conway, an Indigenous Elder and tireless advocate for protecting Indigenous cultural sites, and Endeavour Foundation, a non-for-profit charity established in Queensland in 1951 and is one of the largest disability service providers in Australia.

UQ’s links to Endeavour Foundation include Chairman of the Board Grant Murdoch, who is a UQ Senate Member, Board Members Tony Bellas, Kate Swindon and Alison Semple, Chief Executive Officer David Barbagallo and Executive General Manager Rod Cameron who are all UQ alumni.

UQ itself was named a Queensland Great in 2010, the University’s centenary year.

Contact: Mark Schroder, UQ Advancement, Ph 3346 3921, m.schroder@uq.edu.au