Academic Governance

For many years the late Miss Cluny Portnell was a tireless community worker in the Channel area.  She served as a nurse with the Australian Army’s Voluntary Aide Attachment in the Middle East during World War Two and then as a dental nurse on her return to post-war civilian life.  A long-time resident of Coningham, Miss Cluny Portnell was an active participant in the affairs of the community through the Anglican Church, as a volunteer for Red Cross and for the RSLA Women’s Auxiliary.  From the end of the War until her death in 1995 she was a member of the Kingborough RSL Sub Branch and for many years she was the Sub Branch’s patron.
 
The Kingborough RSL Sub Branch has determined that an enduring memorial to her life of service will be their endowment of a scholarship to support each year a young Tasmanian studying nursing. 
 
The Academic Senate of the University has agreed to the foundation of an endowed scholarship.  These are the rules:
 
Rules

1. An amount of $75,000 provided by the Kingborough Returned and Services League Australia, Sub Branch Inc, together with a matching amount provided by the University of Tasmania Foundation, along with income from time to time, forms the endowment of a scholarship to be known as the “Kingborough RSL Sub Branch Miss Cluny Portnell Memorial Scholarship".
2. The scholarship will be awarded to a suitably qualified Tasmanian student enrolling in the Bachelor of Nursing course whose home address is in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel area of Tasmania, or another area of Tasmania if no suitable candidate from that area applies.In the event that the Kingborough RSL Sub Branch is disbanded or merges with another RSL Branch the committee members nominated at (a), (b) and (c) in Rule 3 will be appointed by either the Tasmanian State Branch of the RSL or the merged Branch respectively. 
3. The scholarship will be awarded by a selection committee comprising:
   a. The Chairperson of the Kingborough RSL Sub Branch, Inc or nominee;
   b. Two other members of Kingborough RSL Sub Branch, Inc nominated by it;
   c. A school principal or another senior teacher employed by the Tasmanian Education Department,if      requested by the Kingborough RSL Sub Branch, Inc.
   d. A nominee of the University of Tasmania Foundation.
4. The selection committee in its absolute discretion will set the detailed selection and performance criteria for the scholarship having regard to the intention of the Kingborough RSL Sub Branch in making the endowment.  However, in its selection, the committee shall:
   a. give priority to students who can demonstrate they need financial support to study; and
   b. take into account the personal qualities and achievements of prospective recipients including how they have contributed to the community, or how they may contribute to the community in the future, and their commitment to nursing as a career.
5. The scholarship is tenable for the minimum time necessary to complete the Bachelor of Nursing by full-time study or part-time study approved by the selection committee.
6. The Selection Committee, in consultation with the University of Tasmania Foundation, will set the annual value of the scholarship bearing in mind the income in the trust and the sustainability of it.
7. The selection committee may terminate a student’s scholarship or suspend it for one year if it considers the student’s progress is unsatisfactory.  If the award is suspended, the selection committee may re-award the scholarship to the same student for a following year if it considers that the student’s academic record the previous year justifies that action.
8. Recipients of the Kingborough RSL Sub Branch Miss Cluny Portnell Memorial Scholarship are expected to attend a meeting with the Kingborough RSL Sub Branch at least once each year over the term of the scholarship.
9. The selection Committee will determine all other matters concerning the scholarship, including advertising, application procedures and the method and time of payment.
    
    
    
   Made by Academic Senate on 15 June 2007
   Amended by Academic Senate on 15 April 2011