More than three decades ago, alumnus Dr Nicholas Hope AM signed his first credit for the World Bank. It was an education project, rather than an addition to infrastructure, and embodied a priority that became a cornerstone of Hope’s career. He still recalls the words of a senior Chinese education official who saw a role for bank finance in “raising the quality of China’s universities, without neglecting the brilliant sons and daughters of the poor”.
Hope believes strongly that reducing the financial barriers to accessing higher education is as essential for the development of society as it is for the individual. “My education has been central to my career and so it should be for everyone,” he said.
Hope has had an enviable international career, predominately at the World Bank and Stanford University’s Centre for International Development. His own educational journey, culminating in four degrees, began at the University of Tasmania and continued with vital support from scholarships. Hope’s parents encouraged his academic pursuits, even though they never had the opportunity to attend university.
Shell Company and Commonwealth Government scholarships supported him in his BSc from the University of Tasmania. Later, he was fortunate to be awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, which subsequently led to a life-defining decision to switch from studying mathematics to economics.
“The scholarship afforded me the luxury to be able to reconsider my career choices.” Dr Nicholas Hope AM
“The scholarship afforded me the luxury to be able to reconsider my career choices,” Hope said.
Since retirement, Hope, who resides in the USA but has a house in Tasmania, has been committed to improving educational equity. He is a Director of the University of Tasmania Foundation USA , which provides philanthropic support for the University’s projects and people, including the Southern Lights Access Scholarship’s funding of students experiencing financial difficulty.
During a recent visit to Tasmania, Hope met Southern Lights Scholar Ella Hill. “I was moved when she recounted that, after receiving her scholarship, she wept along with her father, appreciating the life-changing opportunity presented to her.”
He commended her aspiration to use her higher education for the benefit of young people in her community in north-western Tasmania. Hope finds inspiration in Ella’s story and hopes his fellow alums will consider how they can help the next generation reach its full potential.
Written by Katherine Johnson for Alumni Magazine Issue 54, 2023.
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Top of page: Ella Hill with Dr Nicholas Hope AM | Photo: Richard Jupe