Chancellor awarded Order of Australia
“I feel humbled and honoured to receive this award, it is a wonderful tribute to the organisations and staff I have worked alongside. I have been incredibly fortunate to help lead organisations that represent the very best of our country,” Ms Hutchinson said.
My role as Chancellor at the University of Sydney has been the most rewarding and challenging role I have ever had.
Chancellor Belinda Hutchinson AC
"Our university is facing one of the most significant challenges in its 170-year history, this will be a defining chapter marked by a strong defence of what we stand for and our critical role in the community," Ms Hutchinson said.
“I am so proud of our researchers who are helping us deal with the COVID-19 crisis, our public health experts, clinicians and infectious disease experts are working hard to help us through this worldwide public health emergency. Now, more than ever before, the role of universities is critical. I am also so proud of our staff in enabling our students to study online in a matter of weeks.
“Education is the most powerful tool for good in our society, it is a belief that has guided my work and the work of the philanthropic organisation my family and I set up.”
In 2015, Belinda Hutchinson and her husband Roger Massy-Greene donated $1 million to the University of Sydney to encourage high-achieving science, technology, engineering and maths students to teach at some of NSW’s most disadvantaged schools.
The Chancellor has made an enormous contribution to our University. She is a person of very broad experience; of both enormous commercial acumen and a deep understanding of the for-purpose sector.
"She is committed to maintaining an institution in which ideas are fiercely contested for the good of Australian and our broader region, in which academic freedom and academic excellence are prized. She has chaired the Senate of the University such as to ensure that all arguments are heard, and respectfully debated. She is a passionate advocate for the University with the community, government, business, donors and alumni and an ardent supporter of our staff and students," Dr Spence said.
An alumna of the University of Sydney, Ms Hutchinson graduated with a Bachelor of Economics in 1976, she was appointed Chancellor of the University in 2013 and in May this year was re-appointed for a further four-year term.
Ms Hutchinson has held several leadership roles across the corporate sector including Chair of QBE, Director of AGL Energy, Telstra and Coles Myer. In the not-for-profit sector she is Co-Founder of Eureka Benevolent Foundation, a philanthropic family foundation set up with her husband to empower disadvantaged individuals, families and communities to improve their lives.
Currently, she is the Chair of the Future Generation Global Investment Company and Thales Australia. She is also a Director for Qantas and the Australian Philanthropic Services and was appointed Trustee of the St Vincent’s Curran Foundation in 2019. In 2007, Belinda Hutchinson was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
A full list of Queen’s Birthday Honours received by members of the University community will soon be published. If you know someone in the University community who should be included, email us on alumni.office@sydney.edu.au.
