Notable alumni
For 175 years, our alumni have led change in medicine, science, business, politics, advocacy and the arts.
Our alumni have inspired, led, entertained, challenged and improved the world around them.
You may recognise many of our famous names such as lawmaker Michael Kirby, journalist and broadcaster Mary Kostakidis, writer Clive James, opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland and activist Charles Perkins.
But for every famous alum, you'll find thousands of people who have led change and made a difference in their own field.
No less than eight Australian prime ministers graduated from the University of Sydney between 1901 and the present day.
Today, Noel Pearson is a highly respected advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights and recognition, while Professor Marie Bashir is a former Governor of NSW and one of Australia's most prominent academics and public figures.
Leaders in other fields, includung many pioneers in STEM, have also started their journey of enquiry and research here. Again, there are names you’ll know, such as renowned heart surgeon Dr Victor Chang, and others you may not, like Professor Graeme Clark FRS, who made the first cochlear ear implant. Professor Clark’s invention has benefitted more than 200,000 people in more than 100 countries to date.
In 2024, Professor Georgina Long and Richard Scolyer won co-Australians of the Year for their work in groundbreaking melanoma research with the potential to save thousands of lives.
And Australia’s first female astronaut, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, is opening doors for Australian scientists and engineers, inspiring them to reach for the stars.
Our alumni have worked on some of our world’s most iconic landmarks. Sir John Bradfield oversaw the design and construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and John Andrews, Australia’s first internationally recognised architect, designed the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada.
We’ve also supported alumni to shape the world through their contributions to culture and society. In 1991, Arts graduate John Bell formed the Bell Shakespeare Company, a major theatrical production house which has entertained theatre-goers for decades.
We've helped to inspire 150+ Olympians and Paralympians who have thrilled sports fans in stadiums around the world. At the Paris 2024 games, 14 alumni proudly represented Australia and brought home one gold and three silver medals.
The spirit of philanthropy and humanity leads many of our alumni to work for organisations such as the WHO, like Dr Richard Brennan AO, Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. Or passionately fight for a single cause, such as Natalie Bennett, an agricultural science graduate and former leader of the UK Green Party.
It may see them lobbying for change, like Indigenous mentor and founder of the AIME program Jack Manning Bancroft, and human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC, who has fought discrimination and defended the freedom of speech on an international stage.
In accepting an honorary degree in Education and Social Work in 2006, Robertson recalled his first time at the University in the 1960s.
Learning at this university meant learning how and why to reject ideas that were cruel or obsolete or discriminatory. We left here with the notion that there was no such thing as 'pure' scholarship: that scholarship could never be pure unless it pointed a way to benefit society.
Human rights lawyer
“Learning at this university meant learning how and why to reject ideas that were cruel or obsolete or discriminatory. We left here with the notion that there was no such thing as 'pure' scholarship: that scholarship could never be pure unless it pointed a way to benefit society.”
Geoffrey Robertson QC Human rights lawyer
It is a notion our alumni continue to pay forward.
