Celebrating 60 years of Community Support

Wednesday, 15 October 2025

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Over 60 years, more than 12,000 people have donated over $200 million to shape a better tomorrow through the University of Newcastle.

A timeline showing philanthropy over 60 years of the University, with images, information and dates provided. An accessible PDF is below.

1965

  • The University of Newcastle opens its doors, with the first 138 students graduating in 1966.
A Professor in a gown and cap shaking the hands of a graduate in a gown 

1973

  • The Great Hall opens following a community “buy-a-brick” campaign started by alumni and former Lord Mayor, Dr Frank Purdue CBE.
Four men in University gowns and caps standing around a stone marking the opening of the Great Hall 

1974

  • Open Foundation is established to provide a free pathway program to gain entry to the University. Today, it’s the oldest and largest program of its kind in Australia.
Two students working together at a computer 

1978

  • 2NURFM begins broadcasting and is keeping our community connected decades later with the support of donors.
Students standing around vintage radio equipment, singing and smiling 

1981

  • Friends of the University forms and goes on to raise over $1 million for scholarships and university projects to date.
Black and white photo of four people at a stately desk with flags behind and the word "Newcastle" 

1983

  • From its beginnings in the 1980’s, the Wollotuka Institute formed to support the academic, health, practical and employment needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
Four people are dancing with white ochre body paint and black shorts  

1990

  • The first students graduate from the Indigenous Australian Medical Students Program.
two students are shown smiling at the camera, in graduation gowns and caps, each holding a scroll 

1993

  • Harold Brawn leaves a $5 million bequest to honour his wife, Gladys  Brawn, in support of medical research.
A drawing of a man and a woman looking at the viewer 

1995

  • The Development Office is established to fundraise across the University and is now known as the Office of Alumni and Philanthropy.
Image of two hands, with one handing a red heart into the other 

2002

  • The Newcastle Australia Institute of Higher Education in Singapore is opened.
Image of students walking in a colourful corridor of a building in Singapore decorated with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artwork and a University of Newcastle logo 

2010

  • The University launches its first workplace donation program. Now known as the Staff Donor Collective, members have donated close to $500,000 to support causes through the University.
Logo with text "The Staff Donor Collective" in grey then orange for the word collective, with a circle split into three parts around the logo in grey, and three orange head and body shapes at the bottom to represent people. 

2011

  • The First Shaping Futures Scholarship is awarded and has since helped more than 670 students in need of financial support to achieve their dreams through education.
A student looks to camera while holding a textbook, with the library behind them 

2017

  • The Ma & Morley Scholarship Program is launched with a US$20 million gift from the Jack Ma Foundation – the largest individual donation in the University’s history. Formed through friendship, the Program aims to empower the next generation of globally aware and socially conscious leaders.
Four students are seen from behind, arms linked together looking over the Great Wall of China, with Ma & Morley shirt logos visible 

2018

  • The Paul Ramsay Foundation’s $17.4 million grant for quality teaching rounds is announced, with a further $4.28 million pledged in 2024 – the largest philanthropic partnership supporting research in the University’s history.
A teacher is holding a pen and smiling with a school student standing next to them in a classroom surrounded by students 

2021

  • The Mark Hughes Foundation establishes a dedicated research team led by the inaugural MHF Chair in Brain Cancer. A further generous donation in 2022 establishes the Mark Hughes Foundation Centre for Brain Cancer Research at the University, with over $17.8 million pledged to date.
A group of people stand together with a laboratory behind them, all wearing lab coats and Mark Hughes Foundation beanies. 

2022

  • Gifting Day launches bringing together staff, students, alumni and friends, and has since raised more than $785,000 for programs to benefit our communities.
Three people stand in front of a Gifting Day photo wall, smiling and holding placards about Gifting Day. The person in the middle is also wearing a Gifting Day shirt.  

2025

  • Alumni Belinda and Adam MacDougall support female entrepreneurs with a gift to the Female Leadership and Innovation Program (FLIP).
  • The Sir William Tyree Foundation continues its support of scholarships, bringing their total pledge to almost $1 million.
  • The 200,000th alum graduates.
  • The University celebrates six decades of academic excellence, innovation and community impact.
Flip logo, with FLiP in orange bold font in the middle, an orange banner underneath reading "WHERE WOMEN LEADERS LAUNCH", and light blue long stretchy arms with hands flexibly looped around and behind the logo, holding items such as a plant, mobile phone, coffee cup and the lower case "i" in the logo Teo engineering students standing in a warehouse with a small plane behind them, working on a drone using a tool, with a remote and other drone nearby
 
A female graduate in black cap and gown, with a green shirt underneath, stands outside a wooden door with an older man standing right next to her. They are looking at each other and smiling; he is her grandfather.

View an accessible PDF of the timeline