Six stellar alumni recognised

Media release

The University of Auckland

25 February 2013

Six stellar alumni recognised

Six internationally celebrated graduates of The University of Auckland, in fields ranging from science and innovation to the visual arts, will be honoured at a gala dinner to be held on Friday 1 March.

More than 400 invited guests will attend the dinner in a large marquee on Old Government House lawn.

The five winners of the Distinguished Alumni Awards, and the Young Alumnus of the Year award, have all made outstanding contributions to their professions, their communities, and the nation.

Dr Jillian Evans, BSc 1973, MSc (Hons) 1975, PhD British Columbia 1978, FRSNZ, is a scientist and innovator who has led major drug development programmes in Canada and the United States. She is a founder of PharmAria Therapeutics, in San Diego, where she and her colleagues are developing small molecule drugs to treat cancer and fibrotic diseases.

Norman Godden, BA 1971, MA 1979, has been a leader in New Zealand business for many years, including at Sheffield Ltd, where he was managing director and founding partner. He is a trustee of the Energy Education Trust of New Zealand, which supports the Energy Centre and a Chair in Energy Economics at The University of Auckland Business School.

Kim Goldwater, BE 1961, is a pioneering Waiheke Island winemaker, who has won medals and accolades around the world. In 2011 he and his wife Jeanette made a unique $4 million gift to The University of Auckland as part of a development that has seen their winemaking operation become a new centre for the University’s wine science programme.

Honourable Jim McLay, LLB 1968, CNZM, QSO, has a long and distinguished background in political service and leadership and is New Zealand’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. He held, at various times, the positions of Deputy Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

Andrew Patterson, BArch 1984, is one of New Zealand’s most recognised architects, both locally and internationally. He has been awarded New Zealand’s highest award in architecture on five separate occasions and his firm, Patterson Associates Ltd, is responsible for some of the most exciting buildings produced in New Zealand in the last two decades.

Simon Denny, BFA 2005, Meisterschule, Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste (Städelschule) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany 2009 (Young Alumnus of the Year), has already established an international career, an outstanding achievement for a 29-year-old artist from New Zealand. He was named as a winner of the Baloise Art Prize at the 43rd Art Basel recently and is one of four nominees for the German national Preis der Nationalgalarie für junge Kunst 2013, which will be judged in September 2013.

As well as addressing the gala dinner, the award winners will speak at Auckland Live! 20/20 Vision on Thursday 28 February. This ticketed event will be held from 6-8pm, AMRF Auditorium, Park Road, Grafton Campus, The University of Auckland. At the event speakers will discuss their aspirations and inspiration, their vision of the future in both their career and industry, and advice for people interested in their field. For more information visit: www.auckland.ac.nz/live

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