A force within the feminist movement in Australia, Anne Summers wrote her first book Damned Whores and God’s Police while studying at the University of Sydney and was awarded a PhD for it in 1979. The best-selling book remained in print from 1975 to 2008 and will be republished in 2016.

At the University Anne campaigned for women’s studies to be part of the curriculum, while off campus she was helping to open Elsie, Australia’s first women’s refuge. She has been instrumental in developing policies that improve opportunities for women. Her influence on other key issues such as human rights, the economy and politics continues to be felt around the country.

Ethan Butson has improved quality of life for stroke sufferers – and he hasn’t even graduated. A current science (advanced) student, Ethan developed the SMART system (Stroke Management with Augmented Reality Technology), a camera-based device that helps people overcome stroke and vision impairment. Named the National Australian BHP Billiton Science and Engineering Young Scientist three times, Ethan has also represented Australia at the International Science and Engineering Fair on several occasions. Ethan undertakes research not for awards and acknowledgement, but to help others. He is developing a new way to aid the treatment of cancer using radiotherapy with a device that can reduce the dose delivered to a patient’s skin.

Daniela's parents escaped the political war in Chile in hope of a better future for their children. Her father worked in a metal recycling factory by day and cleaned office buildings at night, while her mother cared for Daniela and her three siblings in their NSW public housing home. Although they grew up with little, she and her siblings knew she had the full support of her parents. Daniela also had the support of her high school careers advisor. One day she called Daniela into her office and encouraged her to apply for the E12 Scholarship program at the University of Sydney. Daniela is currently in her second year of a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Education. She hopes to continue studying towards a Juris Doctor to pursue a future in social justice.  

When Victor Chang undertook his Bachelor of Medical Science followed by a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Sydney in the late 1950s his brilliance was already evident.

Graduating in 1962, he went on to be Dr Victor Chang, a leading light in Australia’s medical community and pioneer of modern heart transplantation. He was instrumental to the establishment of the National Heart Transplant Program at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney in 1984 – and while he saved hundreds of lives through his surgery, it was through his vision and lobbying that he had a truly pervasive influence.

In 2003, Jack Manning Bancroft entered the University of Sydney as a 17 year old on a leadership scholarship. His early days at the University pushed him to think about how he could change the face of Australia, and close the symbolic and physical gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. With this backdrop the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) program began in 2005, with 25 University of Sydney students joining Jack to mentor 25 Indigenous high school students.

Ten years on, AIME is now the biggest support base for Indigenous high school students in Australia, with more than 4500 being mentored by 1500 University students. Over the last decade the program has seen Indigenous students finish school and transition through to University, employment and training at the same rate as non-Indigenous students, effectively closing the educational gap.

Adam Spencer’s contribution to the University of Sydney has been rich and ongoing. While studying a Bachelor of Arts majoring in pure mathematics, he represented the University as one of the world’s top-ranked debaters and was president of the University of Sydney Union and on the University Senate for more than a decade.

He is renowned for his career as a comedian and broadcaster, presenting radio programs for the ABC’s Triple J and 702 stations, and television programs Quantum and Sleek Geeks. In his trademark way Adam has woven mathematics and science into public discourse and made it accessible and intelligible, inspiring students across the country to continue their education.

His first book Big Book of Numbers was the best-selling science hit of 2014 and his second book World of Numbers will be released later this year.

Tara Moss’s PhD from the University of Sydney will follow an already impressive portfolio of books, journalism and advocacy work for women and children worldwide. Publishing her first non-fiction book last year, Tara has sparked a conversation about the fictional labels women wear during their lives: author, model, gold-digger, commentator, dumb blonde, feminist. Part-social analysis, part-memoir, The Fictional Woman is now a bestseller and has been called ‘the new Feminine Mystique’.

Growing up in Western Sydney, Samah Hadid’s worldview and sense of social justice were formed by her time as a University of Sydney student. It was here that she was introduced to international law and human rights – areas that have shaped her career and identity. Today, the international human rights and social justice advocate is a respected adviser to governments and leading international organisations.

She is the Global Humanitarian Campaigns and Advocacy Manager for Oxfam, and was previously country director for the Global Poverty Project. As the 2010 Australian youth representative to the United Nations (UN), she advocated for the rights of minorities and women at the UN General Assembly. Samah is an author and social commentator, and consistently ranks in lists that credit emerging leaders, changemakers and admirable women.

Michael Kirby spent a few industrious years at the University of Sydney, earning a Bachelor of Arts (1959), Bachelor of Laws (1962), Bachelor of Economics (1965) and Master of Laws (1967). He went on to serve on several courts, ultimately on the High Court of Australia (1996-2009). When he retired from the High Court, he was Australia's longest-serving judge. He has since gone on to serve as chair of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on human rights abuses in North Korea. He is currently a member of the Global Fund’s High Level Panel, Equitable Access Initiative to fight aids, tuberculosis and malaria.

A key player in the University of Sydney Dramatic Society, John Bell went on to have a major influence on theatre in Australia.

Co-founder of the Nimrod Theatre Company and former associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company in the United Kingdom, John is best known for founding the Bell Shakespeare Company in 1990. His vision was that great theatre allows audiences of all walks of life to see themselves reflected and transformed.

He helped shape Australia’s perception of Shakespeare and our own cultural identity. He gave children across the country access to theatre with the Bell Shakespeare Learning program, taking the Bard to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and working with students in their own languages.

The Honourable (Edward) Gough Whitlam AC QC was just plain Gough when he studied Law at the University of Sydney in the 1940s.

He would go on to serve as prime minister of Australia for three years, during which time he embarked on a progressive program of reform that introduced welfare payments for
single-parent families and homeless Australians, abolished tertiary education fees, abolished the death penalty for federal crimes, reduced the voting age to 18, ended conscription and established a universal healthcare system. Despite his relatively short time in office, Gough Whitlam is lauded as a leader who believed in equality for all, and shaped Australia’s modern identity.

Only four years after graduating from Medicine, Professor Kerryn Phelps AM started a national conversation about public health in the mainstream media. Twenty five years later she’s a familiar voice in Australian homes discussing some of the health and social issues many avoid – including sexuality, LGBTIQ health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, mental health, child protection and complementary medicine. Kerryn was the first woman President of the Australian Medical Association and is highly regarded in both the medical and wider communities. 

When Clover Moore studied Arts at the University of Sydney in the late 1960s, she didn’t know that she would one day become a champion of community rights in Sydney – not to mention Lord Mayor.

Under her independent leadership Sydney has evolved into a cultural capital. Today it boasts festivals, performances and nightlife that compete with the best in the world. She has taken ambitious action on climate change, delivering award-winning facilities, protecting open space, promoting design excellence, delivering new transport options and initiating progressive solutions to complex social problems.

Benjamin Veness did an about-face in leaving his finance and corporate strategy career behind to study medicine and mental health advocacy at the age of 25. Even before graduation, Ben led 17,000 medical students as president of the Australian Medical Students’ Association. Now a full-time doctor, Ben’s public health and social policy work has been published widely, including in the Sydney Morning Herald. He is an Australia Day Ambassador and continues to research and advocate for student mental health. 

Dr John O’Sullivan was a university student before push-button phone dialing and the overseas satellite broadcasts that allowed the world to watch the moon landing. Engineering the technologies for wi-fi and changing the way we communicate today seemed beyond the bounds of possibility. Specialising in wireless, signal processing and radio-physics, John’s career has spanned the public and private sectors. His achievements have a similar bandwidth: Australian Prime Minister’s Prize for Science; European Inventor Award in 2012; Australian Academy of Science Fellow; Australian Academy of Technological Science and Engineering Fellow; and an honorary doctorate from his alma mater.

Activist, campaigner and Women’s Officer at the University of Sydney Students’ Representative Council, Subeta Vimalarajah made headlines in May 2015 when she took on the GST with the Stop Taxing My Period campaign. Putting her case to federal Treasurer Joe Hockey on the ABC’s Q&A program and on social media, the fourth-year Arts/Law student commanded national media attention with her online campaign to scrap the tax on sanitary products with her petition reaching 100,000 signatures. A member of the SRC’s Executive and a former member of the Sydney University Debating Society, Subeta aims to have her voice on issues of inequality heard. 

Annie Crawford has literally run and swum thousands of kilometres for cancer research.
A degree in social work inspired the start of Annie’s journey giving back to the community and helping people face their fears. Annie founded Can-Too, a not-for-profit organisation which offers participants a dual journey: they get fit and healthy by training for a run, swim or triathlon while giving back to the community by fundraising for cancer research.
In a decade, more than 10,000 individuals have achieved their personal fitness goals and raised $15 million for Cure Cancer and Cancer Council NSW.

Nicholas Farr-Jones AM was integral to the success of the Wallabies Rugby Union team throughout the 1980s and 90s – gathering supporters across the country to win a host of games for Australia, including the 1991 World Cup and the 1992 Bledisloe Cup. Nick played first grade rugby for the University throughout his studies for his law degree. He made his international debut for the Wallabies while still studying, and went on to work as a lawyer when rugby was an amateur sport. He was made captain of the Wallabies when he was only 25, and captained his country on 36 occasions.

William was an Australian poet, explorer, journalist and politician. He was one of the leading figures of early colonial New South Wales, and although an inheritance made him one of the wealthiest men of the colony, he was excluded from the 'respectable' class because his parents never married and his mother’s family were convicts. Living a somewhat colourful life, he was a leading advocate for self-government of the colonies and his reforms quickly gained international recognition. In 1849 he pioneered the first full colonial university in the British Empire - the University of Sydney. He believed a state university, secular and open to all, was essential for the growth of a self-governing society. It would, he argued, provide the opportunity for 'the child of every class, to become great and useful in the destinies of his country'. 

Kathleen Heath aspires to work as a criminal defence lawyer and to lead criminal law reform, seeing these ambitions as complementary. Graduating in 2014, she believes her role of criminal advocate gives her access to clients’ deeply personal stories, and reveals the bigger stories that need to be told – the deep imperfections and systemic failures of society and the criminal justice system. Kathleen has worked with leading law practitioners, academics and advocacy organisations and continues to volunteer at the Wayside Chapel, a community centre serving providing support to the marginalised in the community, including those affected by mental illness, substance abuse or homelessness.

While completing her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney, Mary Kostakidis founded the Sydney University Greek Society and became its first president. She went on to help establish Australia’s first multicultural television channel, SBS, and was the first woman to present a national prime-time television news bulletin – a role that she held for 20 years.

Today Mary continues to influence public debate, delivering lectures, chairing public forums and writing opinion pieces. She has a long-standing interest in social justice, was a member of the National Human Rights Consultation Committee in 2009 and chaired the Sydney Peace Foundation from 2010-11.

Bruce Beresford studied English literature as part of an Arts degree at the University of Sydney. He went on to work around world, first in Nigeria as a film editor, then in England from 1963-72. He later returned to Australia where he established himself as one of Australia’s best directors with a series of now iconic films including Breaker Morant, Don’s Party, Fringe Dwellers, The Getting of Wisdom, and The Club. He has since gone on to make more films all over the world. His Driving Miss Daisy (1989) won the Academy Award for best film, and he was nominated for the script of Breaker Morant and direction of Tender Mercies.  His 2009 film, Mao’s Last Dancer broke records at the Australian box office. He has recently completed a 3-hour TV film, Bonnie and Clyde and a drama Henry Joseph Church (2015) with the actor Eddie Murphy. He has also directed operas on stage in USA, Australia and Italy.

An icon of the design world, Marc Newson’s star began to rise quickly following his graduation from Sydney College of the Arts when he used funding from the Australian Crafts Council (now Craft Australia) for his first exhibition. The exhibition showcased the Lockheed Lounge – a piece that has since set three consecutive world records at auction. The exhibition began Marc’s storied and diverse career, working with aesthetics as diverse as furniture design, fine watches and even founding an aerospace design company. Marc’s designs are on display at galleries from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City to London’s Design Museum, and he is currently Creative Director at Qantas Airways. 

John was a man with a grand vision for Sydney. He has an extensive history with the University of Sydney, as a student, Senate Fellow and even Deputy Chancellor for a year. He earned three degrees from Sydney: a Bachelor, Masters and Doctorate in Engineering, two with first class honours and another a University Medal. In 1924 he received the University's first doctorate of science, for a thesis entitled 'The city and suburban electric railways and the Sydney Harbour Bridge'. He served as a civil engineer for more than 30 years, and designed Sydney's most transformative pieces of infrastructure – the underground electric railway and the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge to unite the northern and southern shores of our city. 

When Annabelle Chauncy moved from NSW’s southern highlands to Sydney to start her Bachelor of Arts/Law in 2004, it seemed like a big move.

But her next move was enormous. In 2008 Annabelle founded a non-profit organisation called School for Life Foundation that operates in Uganda and enables more than 500 students to access high-quality education. Annabelle's 2015 Medal of the Order of Australia and NSW Young Woman of the Year honour are just two of her growing awards of recognition and accomplishment

Active in politics even before he graduated, John Howard joined the Liberal Party in 1957 and was president of the NSW Young Liberals from 1962 to 1964. His passion took him all the way to the top, and in 1996 he was elected Australia's 25th prime minister, serving for almost 12 years.

Only six weeks into his first term he championed significant new restrictions on gun ownership, achieving agreement in the face of immense opposition from the public and within his own party. Australia now has one of the lowest gun-related death rates in the developed world and this reform is being hailed as a model for how the United States could address its gun violence.  

Dr Herbert Evatt fought for the oppressed, for political rights and civil liberties, for freedom of thought and action. Studying for more than a decade and holding four degrees and winning three University Medals, Dr Evatt was a scholar, lawyer, High Court Judge and Attorney General. He was one of the great innovators of the labour movement, influencing Australian public policy and society. His achievements and uncompromising stand for just principles in public life will always be remembered. Dr Evatt was elected President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the only Australian ever to have held the position. He presided over the adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the cornerstone of human rights protection throughout the modern world.