UNSW donor and alumnus John Holden (pictured, third from left) has donated $600,000 to the University to set up two endowed scholarships in Science. These new scholarships will support current and future students in accessing tertiary education in the areas of Maths or Science, with one position in honours and one for undergraduate study.
John himself studied Chemical Engineering at UNSW and, being a rural student from near Grafton, lived in Basser College during his studies, even becoming the first president of Basser. He graduated from UNSW in 1960 and went on to work for CSR. Later, he founded a successful plant manufacturing company called Jord International. He lost contact with UNSW for many years but we re-engaged in 2014, when John was reintroduced to UNSW’s work and community by his old Basser College friend, former UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Emeritus Professor Chris Fell.
As he rekindled his connection with Professor Fell, John saw the great work the University was doing and felt compelled to support us through a number of gifts towards different endeavours.
This is the third gift of $600,000 that John has made to UNSW. The first was to create two residential scholarships for disadvantaged kids from rural Australia, and the second to fund a major Alzheimer’s research project, as he has a family link to the disease.
The Division of Philanthropy and the Faculty of Science are very grateful to John for his ongoing generosity, and for providing students from disadvantaged backgrounds with the opportunity to pursue higher education in STEMM fields. His contribution also supports UNSW’s 2025 Strategy and its theme of building a just society, by providing more opportunities for all students to access a university degree, regardless of their background.
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