Leaving a legacy

Vera Deacon OAM (1926 – 2021) brought Newcastle’s history to life.Vera Deacon left an indelible mark on her beloved city of Newcastle and most certainly the University of Newcastle. Vera tirelessly championed the safeguarding of our region's history and shared her stories and passions with many.

One man’s desire to honour his wife continues to change the lives of millions of people across Australia and the world.

Janet Copley was a tireless political activist and campaigner for social justice in Newcastle and her legacy lives on through the University. She left a generous bequest to support women studying the Arts to attend University, and this has been used in part to establish a doctoral scholarship in her honour. The Janet Copley Doctoral Scholarship is to be awarded preferentially to women applicants who submit a proposal for a high quality project in areas related to: history; autobiography and biography; memoir and historical fiction; labour relations and labour histories; or aspects of Newcastle’s history, society and culture.

Sahibajot Kaur won the 2018 Commissioner K. G. Hoffman Prize in Urban Design, generously established by alumnus Kevin Hoffman. She is now shaping the future of our cities as an architecture graduate.

Dr Benj Tarsh has decided to leave a gift in his will to the University of Newcastle to assist other international students who share his passion to help others.

We don’t know much about the heroine of this story – a little about her family and their love of music – but we do know that her generosity will change the lives of many talented musicians and performing artists whose careers will owe much to Mrs Betty Dobrianskyj.

The extraordinary life of Janet Copley is celebrated through a generous gift to support women’s education, community engagement and social issues.