University of Tasmania, Australia

Two distinguished young University of Tasmania alumni were honoured at the UTAS 2012 annual black-tie Foundation Dinner in Hobart.

University of Tasmania Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Rathjen, delivered a speech on the night to the guests.

London-based designer Brodie Neill and the recently appointed Chief Executive of the Australian Sports Commission, Simon Hollingsworth, shared the limelight with the University’s new scholarship recipients and scholarship donors at the dinner at Wrest Point. Both Brodie and Simon were presented with a Foundation Graduate Award by the Chair of the UTAS Foundation, Mr Miles Hampton.

Prof Rathjen, said recognising the achievement of alumni is important for universities, as it is the success of the graduates that adds to the history, reputation and prestige of the institution.

“It is a welcome opportunity to acknowledge the significant contribution of both Brodie and Simon, who have have taken very different paths to careers of national and international standing,” he said.

”Tonight those divergent experiences converge on home turf at an event that celebrates endeavours of excellence and innovation which were fostered at UTAS. Brodie and Simon are role models for the new scholarship recipients who have embarked on their journey this year.”

Brodie Neill, a 2001 Fine Arts graduate from UTAS, has carved out a career as a furniture designer in the fiercely competitive markets of New York, London, Milan, Paris and Holland, working for prestigious clients and receiving high acclaim through exhibition and authoritative design journal coverage such as Time, Esquire, Vogue and Harpers Bazaar.

He is actively engaged with mentoring others, and guest lecturing at the Tasmanian School of Art, and at universities in Europe and America.

Simon Hollingsworth graduated from UTAS in 1996 with a combined degree of Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws and the following year went to Oxford as Tasmania’s Rhodes Scholar.

During his time at UTAS, he succeeded in combining his studies with competing both nationally and internationally in the 400-metre hurdles. He represented Australia both at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, as well as the Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Championships.

A strong track record in public administration, combined with his experience in the sporting arena, led to Simon being appointed, in September 2011, as Chief Executive of the Australian Sports Commission, which oversees the Australian Institute of Sport.

The dinner also celebrated the generosity of donors who in 2011 gave more than $7 million to the University through the UTAS Foundation. In 2012 the Foundation is aiming to raise more than $10 million, principally for scholarships and to help fund Medical Science 2 in Hobart’s CBD.