A message from the Vice-Chancellor

When I read this year’s Sydney Annual I can’t help feeling both pride and gratitude: pride in our truly impressive teachers, researchers and students, and gratitude towards the many donors who have shown such generosity by contributing more than $79 million in 2011. It was an extraordinary fundraising year by any measure, a record year for philanthropy in Australian higher education, and its impact is being experienced in nearly every corner of the University.

Few universities in the world can boast both the breadth and depth of our research, and these pages give you just a snapshot of our strengths, from the development of new robot technologies to improved practices in early childhood education and potential new treatments for cancer.

Our students are among the brightest: they come to us seeking inspiration and leave with a passion to make the world a better place. With the support of our donors, we can do so much more.

The unprecedented surge of private support in 2011 has enabled more students from disadvantaged backgrounds to receive scholarship assistance. Private funding for cutting-edge research is allowing world-renowned scientists like Professor Stephen Simpson to uncover the causes of obesity, and bright young researchers like Daniel Tan to develop innovative ideas on crop modelling with transformative benefits for the environment.

In short, the generosity of our donors – last year as young as 17 and as old as 103 – is creating a wave of new possibilities. Our future as a university has never been brighter.

Dr Michael Spence
Vice-Chancellor and Principal