Among the highest UNSW honourees are a current Deputy Vice-Chancellor and a prominent UNSW Arts & Social Sciences alumna recognised for her leadership in philanthropy and business.
Members of the UNSW community from an array of disciplines are among the 933 Australians who received Queen’s Birthday Honours announced today by Governor-General the Hon. David Hurley.
Among the highest UNSW honourees are a current Deputy Vice-Chancellor and a prominent Arts & Social Sciences alumna recognised for her leadership in philanthropy and business.
Business owner and philanthropist Naomi Gay Milgrom graduated from UNSW in 1976 with a Diploma of Education and received an Honorary Doctor of Business from UNSW in 2016. Ms Milgrom was conferred the highest civilian honour, a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), for eminent service to the community through philanthropic leadership and support for the promotion of the arts, architecture, design excellence and cultural exchange, and to business.
Ms Milgrom is Managing Director of the Sussan retail chain and is recognised as a leader, mentor, and vocal advocate for women in senior executive roles in business. In 2014 she established the Naomi Milgrom Foundation which supports art, design and architecture projects.
Mr Stephen Garton, who completed his PhD at UNSW Arts & Social Sciences in 1985, was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to tertiary education and to history.
Mr Gregory Allum, who completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1980, was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to surf lifesaving, to international federations and to the community.
Mr Ian Gillespie, who completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1978, was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to motoring associations, to the cooperatives and mutual sector and to motor sport.
Mr Frank Howarth, who completed a Masters in Science and Society in 1984, was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the visual arts through the museums and galleries sector.
Mr Stephen Kinmond, who completed a Bachelor of Arts/Law in 1992, was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the community through complaint investigation and resolution roles.
Ms Jane Simmons, who completed a Bachelor of Music/Education in 1975 and a Master of Education Administration in 1996, was awarded a Public Service Medal for outstanding public service to education in New South Wales.
And Ms Louisa Van Mal, who graduated from a Bachelor of Arts in 2005, received an Australian Corrections Medal and Mr Mark Dobson, who graduated from a Bachelor of Arts in 2010, received an Australian Fire Service Medal.
UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Professor Nicholas Fisk, was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to tertiary education, and to maternal-fetal medicine. Professor Fisk provides strategic leadership and support to the President and Vice-Chancellor in the generation of external research income and improving UNSW’s overall research performance, and in attracting and retaining outstanding academic staff, research only staff and higher degree research students to UNSW. His research is in the fields of developmental biology and maternal-fetal medicine. He is the author of more than 400 publications.
In 2019, Professor Fisk and a colleague from QUT published a paper in The New England Journal of Medicine about the first case of semi-identical, or sesquizygotic, twins identified in Australia. The young Queensland twins, a boy and a girl, were identified as only the second set of semi-identical twins in the world – and the first to be identified by doctors during pregnancy. The now four-year-old twins share 100 per cent of their mother’s genes, but are like siblings on their father’s side, sharing a proportion of their father’s DNA.
UNSW Arts & Social Sciences alumni Mr Gregory Arthur Allum and Dr Stephen Garton were also recognised in this year’s honours.
UNSW President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Jacobs congratulated all who received awards and said the UNSW community was incredibly proud of its Queen’s Birthday Honours recipients.
“It is a wonderful acknowledgment of the contributions UNSW students, staff and alumni make toward the betterment of society, locally and globally, through inspiring leadership, world-changing research and a pioneering spirit,” Professor Jacobs said. “We are incredibly proud of the University community recognised in this year’s Queen’s Birthday honours and I congratulate all who have been honoured.”
Companion (AC) in the General Division
Ms Naomi Gay Milgrom (DipEd '76, HonDBus '16), for eminent service to the community through philanthropic leadership and support for the promotion of the arts, architecture, design excellence and cultural exchange, and to business.
Officer (AO) in the General Division
Professor Bruce Chapman (BCom '76), for distinguished service to higher education, particularly in the field of economics and public policy, and to professional societies.
Professor Simon Robert Finfer, Adjunct Professor, UNSW, since 2017. For distinguished service to intensive care medicine, to medical research and education, and to global health institutes.
Dr Catherine Patricia Foley PSM, Member, Industry Advisory Board, School of Materials Science and Engineering, UNSW. For distinguished service to research science, to the advancement of women in physics, and to professional scientific organisations.
Dr Kim Oates (MHP '83), for distinguished service to paediatric medicine, as an advocate for child health and welfare, to medical education, and to professional societies.
Member (AM) in the General Division
Mr Gregory Arthur Allum OAM (BArts '80), inducted in the UNSW Sporting Hall of Fame, 2012. For significant service to surf lifesaving, to international federations, and to the community.
Brigadier Alison Margaret Creagh CSC (Ret'd) (GradDipMgtStud '95 MDefStud '97), Strategic Adviser, UNSW Canberra Defence Research Institute, 2018- 2019 and Adjunct Lecturer, current. For significant service to veterans and their families, and to rowing.
Professor Nicholas Maxwell Fisk, UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, current. For significant service to tertiary education, and to maternal-fetal medicine.
Mr Atticus Fleming (BComm/LLB '93), for significant service to the conservation of endangered wildlife and habitats.
Professor Susan Lesley Forster (MB BS '75, MHP '83), UNSW Rural Clinical School Associate Dean (Rural Health), 2009-2019, Head, Sydney Campus, 2006-2019, Acting/Deputy Head, 2008-2009. For significant service to tertiary education, to rural public health, and to medical administration.
Dr Stephen Garton (PhD '85), for significant service to tertiary education administration, and to history.
Emeritus Professor John Mackenzie Ham, UNSW Clinical Associate Dean, 1990-2000; Professor of Surgery, 1990; Associate Professor of Surgery, 1970-1990; Various lecturing positions, 1959-1969. For significant service to medical education, and to professional organisations.
Mr John McKenzie (BComm/LLB '78), for significant service to the law, to the legal profession and to social justice for the Indigenous community.
Dr Rebecca Nicole Johnson, Conjoint Professor, UNSW, current. For significant service to wildlife forensic science, and to young women scientists.
Professor Jeffrey Lipman, Adjunct Professor, The George Institute for Global Health, UNSW, current. For significant service to medicine, to anaesthesiology and critical care, and to education.
Dr Richard Walter Morris BM, Honorary Conjoint Associate Professor, St George and Sutherland Clinical School, UNSW Faculty of Medicine, current. Clinical Lecturer, 1989-1997. For significant service to medicine, and to emergency and disaster medical response.
Professor Nicholas Martin Nakata, Director, UNSW Nura Gili Centre for Indigenous Programs, 2010-2016. For significant service to tertiary education, and to learning outcomes for Indigenous students.
Professor Christine Phillips (MPH '02), for significant service to medical education, to migrant and refugee health, and to medicine.
Emeritus Professor William Raymond Purcell (BCom '75, PhD '81), Professor and Head, UNSW School of International Business, 1991-2005. Former Director, UNSW Japanese Economic and Management Studies Centre. Former Director, Australian Centre for International Business, UNSW. For significant service to tertiary education, to business, and to Australia-Japan relations.
Ms Antonia Syme, Manager, Development Strategy, College of Fine Arts, UNSW, 2007-2008. For significant service to visual arts administration, and to maritime archaeology.
Medal (OAM) in the General Division
Mr Greg Wallace Fordham, Guest Lecturer, UNSW. For service to the aviation transport industry.
Mr Stephen Kinmond (BArts/LLB '92), for service to the community through complaint investigation and resolution roles.
Ms Philia Angela Polites, Consultant, Aboriginal Education Program, UNSW, 1996. For service to people with a disability, and to the community.
Dr William Huyliem Trinh (BSc '89, GradCertOcTher '08), Visiting Lecturer and Clinical Instructor, School of Optometry and Vision Science, UNSW. For service to international humanitarian medical programs, and to optometry.
Dr Paul Walker (MB BS '83), for service to paediatric medicine, and to professional organisations.