Bill McClymont Scholarship Fund

Memories of visionary agricultural scientist and educator Professor Bill McClymont loom large at UNE, even two decades after his death. The foundation dean of the Faculty of Rural Science inspired countless students and colleagues, and revolutionised thinking about agricultural systems internationally.

Few alumni of the faculty could forget the lanky, moustachioed veterinarian who arrived in 1955 to develop the Rural Science undergraduate degree program. The agro-ecological systems model he devised and routinely revised – integrating animal husbandry, agronomy, soil science, economics and other disciplines into livestock and agricultural production – has proven every bit as memorable.

The founder of UNE’s esteemed Rural Science program saw agriculture as a series of connected components that performed best in concert.

Bill was a firm believer in the power of the collective. 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.”

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.”