The year in review – alumni events

January 2008

Guests arrive at Carousel for the 2007 Distinguished Alumni Awards gala ceremony

In 2007, Alumni Relations and University faculties and groups held a variety of events for graduates, ranging from well-attended awards nights to smaller faculty-based reunions.

Last year marked the creation of two new categories in the annual Distinguished Alumni Awards (DAA) program - the ‘Distinguished Young Alumni Award’ and ‘Distinguished Alumni Service Award’.

Alumni Relations hosted a gala ceremony to honour 2007 DAA recipients in August at Carousel in Albert Park. The awards went to outstanding Monash graduates including health care clinician, academic and administrator Tan Sri Dato' Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman (MBBS 1968, HonMD 1997), leading graphic designer Mr Richard Henderson (DipArtDes 1974) and medical researcher Dr Renea Taylor (BSc(Hons) 1998, PhD 2003). The University was also proud to recognise the founders of four alumni chapters by awarding them with the inaugural Service Award.

Monash University held an inaugural global alumni summit in 2007. The event brought together representatives from various alumni chapters from around the world to exchange ideas. The summit resulted in the creation of an alumni body representing Monash’s global alumni – the Monash Alumni Advisory Group.

Academy of Performing Arts shows continued to attract alumni in 2007. Events attracting the largest alumni audience were the two ‘Autumn Series’ concerts (including the official Academy launch) followed by the play ‘The Bacchae’.

In 2007, Monash faculties held a number of successful social events for alumni. These included five MBBS reunions, a Graphic Design reunion, and an Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management reunion and end-of-year social. The Victorian College of Pharmacy also held two reunions (1982 and 1993) as well as a new series of meetings for retired pharmacists, while the Law School held a dinner to honour former staff member Lawrie McCredie. Alumni Relations hosted several global events to bring together alumni in cities including New York, Sydney and Tokyo.

TeamMONASH continues to break alumni participant records in major sporting events. These included the Portsea Swim Classic, Mother’s Day Classic, Melbourne Marathon, Around the Bay in a Day and the Singapore Marathon. TeamMONASH debuted in two new events in 2007 - the Malay Mail Big Walk (in Malaysia) and Walk the Talk (in South Africa).

The popularity of events in 2007 will help inform planning for 2008. Keep up to date with future activities for Monash alumni by visiting the alumni event calendar online.