Media Release
May 22 2008
Home town generosity builds local capacity
Successful
Port Pirie couple, Leon Davis AO and Annette Davis (nee Brackenridge)
have decided to give something back to their home town by establishing
two significant scholarships to study at the University of South
Australia.
The couple, who were born in Port Pirie, are hoping their example will encourage other benefactors to come forward to support young rural and regional South Australians who want to continue on to higher education.
The Annette and Leon Davis Scholarships are open to Port Pirie school-leavers enrolled full-time in an undergraduate degree program at UniSA.
The first scholarship will be awarded in 2009 and the second in 2011. The value of each scholarship is $12,000 for the first year and subsequent payments of $11,000 a year for the duration of the program to a maximum of four years.
UniSA Pro Vice Chancellor: Strategy and Planning Professor Hilary Winchester says the personal generosity of the Davis family has been motivated by their own keen understanding of the difficulties and barriers experienced by regional communities.
“I think they are very much aware of the impact that distance can make to accessing services that city people take for granted,” Prof Winchester said.
“A student from Port Pirie who has ambitions to study at university has not only to find the usual student expenses but they must be able to support accommodation at city rental rates, study and work in a new environment, often without immediate support from their families. This is an enormous strain on families and it means students with high potential can miss their opportunity to study because the financial burden is more than they can afford.
“The significant generosity of the Davis family in establishing these scholarships has set a wonderful example for individuals and corporations to follow.”
Leon Davis graduated from SA Institute of Technology in Primary Metallurgy in 1961 and received an Honorary Doctorate from UniSA in 2005.
He is an Officer of the Order of Australia, a recipient of the Centenary Medal and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.
Across his impressive career in industry he has served as Chairman of Westpac Banking Corporation; Chief Executive of Rio Tinto; Deputy Chairman of Rio Tinto; Managing Director and Chief Executive of CRA; President of the Board of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research; Chairman of the Federal Government’s Business Roundtable on Sustainable Development and member of the Foreign Affairs Council.
To be eligible for the scholarship applicants must:
• have lived in Port Pirie for at least three years immediately prior to
scholarships application;
• have commenced University studies no more than two years after the
completion of year 12;
• be enrolled full-time during receipt of scholarship funding;
• be able to demonstrate financial disadvantage;
• provide a personal written statement demonstrating career and personal
goals and how the scholarship would help them to achieve their goals;
• and provide two character references.
More information about the scholarships is available by telephoning
Yvonne Clark
Media contacts
-
Michèle Nardelli office (08) 8302 0966 mobile 0418 823 673
email michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au