Million dollar donation from alumni helps open up doors to higher education.
Two University of Newcastle (UON) alumni have donated $1 million to help students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds gain access to and successfully participate in higher education.
The donation will be used to establish a fund and will support student scholarships and community outreach research, enabling the work of UON’s globally renowned Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education (CEEHE).
The Centre’s work includes programs such as AIM HIGH, supporting educational aspiration, attainment and access for students and families from low socio economic backgrounds, and the Children’s University Newcastle program which is designed to develop confidence and aspiration in children by providing access to a variety of extra learning opportunities.
The donors, who met while studying at UON, believe that education has been the main force in shaping their lives and wish to extend the opportunity of higher education to young people whose dreams are hindered by financial constraints or who have not yet dared to dreamed or even learned how to dream.
" We hope that our donation will not only assist the direct recipients but may also help to open doors to ideas and opportunities within the wider community. In lessening the 'opportunity gap' we can all benefit from being part of a more equitable society."
With 24 per cent of students from low socio-economic backgrounds, UON is well above the sector average in providing opportunities for access to quality higher education.
Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Caroline McMillen, said the generous donation would help the University to continue its proud history of excellence in equity and education.
“This donation will help the University to continue our groundbreaking work in the field of equity in higher education, ensuring we can support students from diverse backgrounds to enter university, graduate and succeed.”
“It is incredibly inspiring to have former students make such a tremendous commitment to advancing the equity agenda for future students. A donation of this magnitude will have transformational impact for students from diverse backgrounds in our regions,” said Professor McMillen.
Co-Director of CEEHE and UON’s Global Innovation Chair of Equity, Professor Penny Jane Burke said the donation would enable critical equity research.
“CEEHE already offers global leadership in the field of equity initiatives, yet there are so many ways we need to keep working to redistribute opportunities for communities who have experienced social disadvantage to access higher education.”
“This donation will be hugely significant as it will empower us to learn new insights into the barriers, challenges and effectiveness of community outreach programs. By using these research learnings to continue to develop programs similar to Children’s University Newcastle, we will engage our wider communities and create leading, and unique, equity programs with impact,” said Professor Burke.
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