Annual Report 1997

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 1997

MEDICINE

In 1996, the Foundation made the inaugural contribution to the National Health and Medical Research Council's (NH MRC) CJ Martin/Neil Hamilton Fairley Fellowships with one of the Fellowships to become known as the NH MRC/RG Menzies Fellowship. These Fellowships are available for postgraduate medical study at approved overseas institutions with tenure for up to four years. Two years are spent in the overseas country followed by two years back in Australia. The Foundation has made available a supplementation of $5,000 for each of the four years of the award for activities associated with the NH MRC/RG Menzies Fellowship, e.g. conference travel.

The 1997 NH MRC/RG Menzies Fellowship was awarded to Dr Robert Anderson who is currently working at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. He will carry out a study entitled The role of HLA DRB1*0103 and endogenous immunoadjuvant in ulcerative colitis at the Department of Gastroenterology, Radcliffe Infirmary and Department of Molecular Immunology, Oxford.

LAW

The Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Trust in London, with the support of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and of the Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Foundation in Australia, offers to Australians two post-graduate scholarships in law for tenure at universities in the United Kingdom.

This year, there were 45 applications for the two law scholarships. Preliminary local interviews were arranged in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne for the 28 candidates who had completed the degree of Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours. Each lasted one half day, and in every case, Professor PL Waller chaired the interview panel which also included either a local Law Dean or a senior professorial academic, together with a former Menzies Scholar. Following those preliminary interviews, a short list of applicants was invited to Melbourne for final interview on 31 October. The interview panel was Sir Zelman Cowen (Chair), Professor Louis Waller, the Honourable Justice Susan Kenny and Mr Roger Davies, the Deputy British Consul-General, representing the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Scholarships in Law were awarded to Mr Matthew Tyson who holds the degrees of BA/LLB from the University of New South Wales (1997) where he was placed 8th in a graduating class of 224 and Mr Justin Hogan-Doran who holds the degrees of BEc (Social Sciences) (1994) and LLB (with First Class Honours) from the University of Sydney (1996). Mr Hogan-Doran was placed 4th in his graduating class.

Both Mr Tyson and Mr Hogan-Doran will take up their scholarship at Oxford University where Mr Tyson will study for the 1 year BCL and Mr Hogan-Doran for the 2 year BCL commencing in October 1998.

ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES

This research scholarship, which is valued at $24,000 per annum for each of two years, is open to graduates in any of the health sciences who have enrolled for a PhD in an Australian University and who have completed the first stage of their doctoral program. As in previous years, the Foundation is grateful for the support of the final selection committee and the assessors who are nominated by the respective disciplines to grade the applications in terms of topic, relevance and methodology.

In 1997, the scholarship attracted a field of 24 high quality candidates, and the disciplines included physiotherapy, speech pathology, psychology, and public health.

In addition to the grading by the discipline assessors, the academic qualifications and publication record of each candidate as well as the scientific validity of the various projects are carefully considered.

As a consequence of this selection process, four candidates were invited to attend for interview in Melbourne on 12 August 1997. The interview panel consisted of Professor Bob Porter (Chair), Professor Margaret Bullock, and Dr Susan Paxton.

Following these interviews the Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Research Scholarship in the Allied Health Sciences has been awarded to Ms Colleen Canning who holds the degree of Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) from the University of Queensland (1977) and a Masters Degree in Motor Learning from Columbia University (1984). Her PhD project is entitled Recovery of strength and dexterity following stroke: relationship to motor function at the University of Sydney in the Department of Physiotherapy. Ms Canning has co-authored one book and four invited book chapters, as well as five papers in refereed journals.

HARVARD

The Harvard Club of Australia, the Australian National University and the Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Foundation jointly sponsor the Robert Gordon Menzies Scholarships to Harvard University. The Scholarship is administered by the ANU. This year the Foundation appointed Mr James McLachlan - a previous Menzies Law Scholar and member of the Board - as its representative on the selection committee.

The 1997/98 Scholarships were awarded to:
Mr Justin Wolfers, who will undertake a PhD program in Economics
Ms Sarah Vickers-Willis, who will undertake a Masters program in Business Administration
Dr Monica Nolan, who will undertake a Masters program in Public Health.

SIR ROBERT MENZIES CENTENARY PRIZE, DIMBOOLA
In 1994, as a mark of Sir Robert's contribution to education, the Foundation created an annual Sir Robert Menzies Centenary Prize at the Dimboola Memorial Secondary College, i.e. the college closest to Sir Robert's birthplace of Jeparit. The criteria for the award were developed jointly with the College Council and make special reference to academic excellence and community service. The award is for a senior student who is proceeding to tertiary study and is a contribution of $1,000 to the first year of study. In 1997 the prize was awarded to Ms Lauren Feery who was Dux of the College in 1996 and who has also represented the College in a wide range of sporting activities and competitions including the Lions Youth of the Year competition. She is studying Commerce at Deakin University.