Larger-than-life agricultural scientist and UNE educator Professor Bill McClymont was a big believer in the power of the collective. The founder of UNE’s esteemed Rural Science program saw agriculture as a series of connected components that performed best in concert.
So, there’s something poetic in the origins of the scholarship that pays tribute to him.
Aware that individual donations might be insufficient to support an endowed fund, a group of UNE Rural Science graduates, alumni and ex-staff pooled their resources instead.
“You could say we applied the systems thinking that Professor McClymont espoused,” said former student, eminent plant physiologist, agricultural scientist and climate change advocate, University of Melbourne Emeritus Professor Snow Barlow.
The annual $5,000 McClymont Scholarship was awarded for the first time this year – to first-year Rural Science student Charlotte Patterson, from Central Queensland. In offsetting her living and study expenses, it celebrates the life and work of the man who coined the term “sustainable agriculture” and inspired hundreds of UNE alumni now working around the world.
“Professor McClymont was an icon, who had a profound influence on the lives and careers of generations of UNE students,” Snow said. “His education, which introduced us to systems thinking, was transformative and has served us well throughout our varied careers. Now it’s our turn to invest in the next generation, who will operate in an increasingly complex world.”
A proponent of sustainable agriculture, Charlotte has worked on cattle stations throughout Queensland and in the Northern Territory to help finance her studies.
“We were introduced to the work of Professor McClymont in our very first class and I chose the Rural Science course because of its broader scientific focus on future sustainability,” she said. “I am grateful for the scholarship’s support, which I put toward rent, food and uni fees.”
The McClymont Fund currently has a corpus of approximately $160,000. The immediate goal is to double it over time to enable either a more generous scholarship or perhaps a second award, to give another committed regional student the opportunity to study at UNE.
UNE Manager of Advancement, Alumni and Events, Samantha Crick, said the McClymont Scholarship demonstrates what strength can be found in numbers.
“Alone, our impact can be modest, but together we can achieve great things,” she said. “Across our alumni community, there may be members of other UNE groups or clubs or teams prepared to join forces to support similar philanthropy. We welcome your ideas and combined efforts.”
Contact the Office of Advancement today to discuss how you can change the lives of students like Charlotte or realise a passion project.
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