Annual celebration of CASS student success and donor generosity

Each year, more than 250 students in the College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) benefit from scholarships and grants that enrich their study experience, or enable them to perform to their full potential.

The second CASS Celebration of Success and Generosity on 18 February acknowledged these motivated and high-achieving students; as well as recognising our generous donors who support them. Students from the ANU School of Music provided the musical soundtrack to the evening.

The Welcome to Country was given by Aunty Dr Matilda House, who gave her heartfelt thanks and asked for a round of applause for the Director of the ANU Tjabal Centre, Aunty Dr Anne Martin. Aunty Dr Matilda spoke of how her grandfather was a stockman and raced horses around the track in Acton, which is now part of Lake Burley Griffin. She thanked the students and donors in the audience for making a difference for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives.

“I’m inspired everyday by our students; the stories they share, their experiences studying with us and changing their lives for the better”, said Professor Rae Frances, Dean of CASS. “I am sure donors joining us tonight will be just as inspired to meet these inquisitive and enterprising students… the differences these scholarships can make can last a lifetime.”

Representing the students in the audience, Nardi Simpson, Indigenous Higher Degree Scholarship recipient at the ANU School of Music said, “It’s great to see everyone come together to celebrate young students and their achievements.” Nardi is a Yuwaalaraay writer, musician, composer, storyteller and educator from the northwestern News South Wales freshwater plains.

Frank Exxon and Caroline Walsh from the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) spoke on behalf of all of the donors in the audience. The IPAA contributes to the E.A. Lyall Memorial Prize, first awarded in 1974, making it one of the longest-running prizes awarded at ANU. Ernie Lyall was a public administration academic and public servant par excellence, working at the Bureau of Census and Statistics and at the Customs department. He joined the ANU as a lecturer in Political Science in 1965 and served on the IPAA council prior to his premature death in 1972.