Meet some of our donors

Giving is one of life's simple pleasures. Our University has been fortunate to have received generous gifts from donors for very special and personal causes. These gifts have provided hope, support, and opportunity to many. We wish to acknowledge all of the donors who have made projects at our University possible. Meet some of our donors and learn more about their causes.

Donald Livingstone McNair

Donald Livingstone McNair’s grand passion is plants. So much so he has collected more than 12,000 plant samples. He has donated the plants to the University of Newcastle to create a herbarium (A herbarium is a collection of dried plants that are mounted and systematically classified for study and identification).

The University has gratefully accepted this extensive collection and named the herbarium ‘The Don McNair Herbarium’ in his honour.

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< A Lifelong Passion for Plants (PDF)

Joseph McBride

Bega cattle farmer Mr McBride was touched by the professional yet caring nursing his wife Pat received in hospital in her final days battling cancer. So much so, that he willingly agreed to his wife’s suggestion of creating The Edith and Joseph McBride Scholarship in Nursing.

The $30,000 donation honours his beloved parents Edith and Joseph McBride (Snr), and offers one Central Coast student studying a degree in nursing at the University of Newcastle’s Ourimbah Campus $1,000 per year for the three-year duration of their course.

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< Compassionate nursing inspires donation (PDF)

Neville Sawyer AM

Throughout his successful career in a variety of business and industry operations, Neville Sawyer has been committed to education through TAFE and University. With his particular area of interest in developing education and training programs to increase skills levels in the workforce, Neville established the Neville Sawyer Scholarship in Business and Law in 2007. His aim was to encourage graduates in engineering, science and information technology to undertake postgraduate studies in business and law.

Neville is a very dedicated Novocastrian who has been extremely successful in a variety of business and industry operations. His greatest contribution is to the development of Ampcontrol which, by the time he retired in 2005, had many offices across Australia. Through the establishment of the Neville Sawyer Scholarship in Business and Law, Neville hopes to bridge the gap between theory and practical skills, to help more graduates to develop the qualifications required of leadership roles in business and industry.

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< Tristan Rayner - 2009 scholarship recipient (PDF)

Don Barker and Annette Lynch

In 2001 Don Barker and Annette Lynch endowed a PhD Scholarship Fund, to support students of outstanding quality in Environmental Studies.  In 2006 the Barker family moved the fund to support students undertaking their PhD studies in health in stroke, prostate cancer, melanoma and ageing.

The scholarship was established in honour of the Barker family name in recognition of the family’s long association with and service to Newcastle Maritime. Don Barker, who initially followed his father into an electrical career, subsequently became an illumination engineer and finally ran his own handyman business. Don also helped found the Newcastle Family History Society in 1983. According to Don his motivation behind donating to the University is pride in Newcastle and honouring the family name.

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< Barker Family PhD Fund (PDF, 22KB)

< Jennifer White - 2009 Barker PhD Scholar (PDF 42KB) 

David Pitts

Music has been a central part of David Pitt's professional and personal life for many years. For David, this love of music and a desire to support the performing arts in Newcastle were the driving factors in his generous donation of a digital organ to the University.

David's donation of a magnificent Ahlborn-Galanti AG3200 62-stop digital organ to the University now sits proudly in the Great Hall, and also features a 26-channel powered speaker system donated by Friends of Newcastle University.

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< An organ donor - of the musical variety (PDF)

Ampcontrol

Ampcontrol is one of Australia's largest privately-owned suppliers of electrical and electronic products to the power, mining and energy markets. It operates 24 sites across Australia and internationally in the UK, South Africa, New Zealand, China and Russia.

In 2004 Ampcontrol invested nearly half a million dollars towards the establishment of a Professorial position of Power Engineering at the University, a study discipline previously unavailable to Engineering students. Power Engineering is a specialist electrical engineering discipline that covers power systems.

Ampcontrol's donation has enabled the University of Newcastle to offer students greater diversity, creating a bridge between the educational institute and Power Engineering.

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< Ampcontrol - Chair in Power Engineering (PDF)

Delta Electricity

Delta Electricity is a long time supporter of students studying at the University of Newcastle’s Central Coast Campus. Delta Electricity funds a total of four scholarships, demonstrating its commitment to supporting higher education. Three scholarships are for undergraduate students and the fourth supports an Indigenous student.

Each of the scholarship offers $2,500 to a student from the Central Coast or Lake Macquarie region.These scholarships provide students with the extra financial support and boost in confidence they need to complete their degrees to the best of their ability.

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Delta Electricity - long time supporter of the Central Coast (PDF)