First Indigenous Australian students to attend Oxford University
27 October 2009
The University of Oxford hopes to see its first ever Indigenous Australian students arrive next year, supported by the Charlie Perkins Trust for Children & Students.
A year after the University's Chancellor Lord Chris Patten of Barnes and Hetti Perkins, Chair of the Trust and daughter of Charlie Perkins, launched the scholarships in Australia, the University can now announce that funding has been secured for the first two students to study at graduate level. Despite a significant Australian student body, it is believed there has never been an Indigenous Australian studying for an undergraduate or postgraduate degree at the University.
The scheme is currently being advertised, with the Trust accepting applications from 16 November 2009, it is hoped that two Indigenous Australian postgraduate students will start in 2010. The Charlie Perkins Scholarships will provide full funding for living expenses, airfares and all tuition fees over a three-year period and the first scholarships have been funded by the Australian Government, British Government (through the Chevening program) and Rio Tinto.
The Perkins Scholarships will provide full funding for living expenses, airfares and all tuition fees over a three-year period and the first scholarships have been funded by the Australian Government, British Government (through the Chevening program) and Rio Tinto.
This week Australia's Minister for Education and Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, announced the Australian Government will be contributing $A132,000.
Director of Development at Oxford University, Sue Cunningham said: "We are delighted that a year after we announced the Perkins Scholarships, we now have the funding to officially launch them. Providing financial support so a diverse range of students have the opportunity to study at The University of Oxford is one of the central aims of the University's fundraising campaign, Oxford Thinking."
In the late 1950s Charlie Perkins was a young Aboriginal soccer player playing for an English team when he was spotted and offered a contract by Manchester United's coach, Sir Matt Busby.
But a game against Oxford University inspired him to want to further his education in order to more effectively champion the aspirations of his people. Despite not finishing high school, he turned his back on Manchester United, determined to go to university.
In 1966 he became the first Aboriginal man to graduate from university when he received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney. In 1984 he was made head of the Commonwealth Department of Aboriginal Affairs, named Aborigine of the Year in 1993, and received an Order of Australia in 1987 for services to Aboriginal welfare. Dr Charles Perkins AO was a fervent Aboriginal activist and pioneer of Indigenous rights until his death in 2000.
The Charlie Perkins Trust will visit Australian universities and publicise the scholarships widely to encourage students to apply. It is hoped the Perkins Scholarships will inspire future generations of Indigenous Australians to set their sights on studying at the world's leading institutions. The Trust hopes that it can continue to raise money to secure the scholarships in perpetuity.
Hetti Perkins, daughter of Charlie Perkins and Chair of the Charlie Perkins Children and Students Trust said: "I am thrilled by the financial and other support the Trust has received for the Charlie Perkins Scholarships. In the last year, we have seen something that was labelled "an interesting idea" take shape and become a scholarship program that is leading Indigenous students to reappraise what is achievable. When my father was a young man, university was only a dream for most Aboriginal people. And, until now, studying at the University of Oxford was an unattainable dream. With the Perkins Scholarships, talented Indigenous scholars can make the dream a reality and grasp the opportunity to step up and speak up for our people. In doing so they will not only realise their full potential but honour those who came before us and struggled to make our dreams come true.
The new scholarships will be launched in the UK by Professor Marcia Langton, who holds the Foundation Chair in Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne. An Oxford launch is planned for 9 November 2009, to be hosted by Dr Don Markwell, Warden of Rhodes House. The London launch will take place on 10 November 2009 at the Australian High Commission, to be hosted by the Deputy High Commissioner.
The Australian launch is set for 26 November at the British High Commissioner's residence in Canberra.
Last year's announcement came as part of the University's fundraising campaign, which has now raised more than £770m. The Campaign for the University of Oxford, which launched 18 months ago, aims to raise £1.25 billion.
The current total includes generous donations from worldwide, including Australia, China and America. The Campaign aims to sustain and enhance Oxford's international reputation and provide security in a world of uncertain state funding. It will ensure Oxford can attract the most gifted students, irrespective of their financial situation.
Being able to fund Oxford University research and scholarship matters - not just to its academics and students, but to Australia and the rest of the world. Oxford research confronts the major challenges for humanity of the 21st century - including global health, ageing, environmental change, ethnic conflicts, societal injustices, wildlife conservation, water scarcity, sustainable economic growth, and building understanding across disparate cultures.
The Campaign will also bring some of the most important changes to the physical face of Oxford for a generation. New buildings will be constructed, housing some of the world's most advanced research centres and teaching facilities.
For more information contact Katie Samuel in The University of Oxford Press Office on press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk or +44 (0)1865 270046