Monash's distinguished alumni named

23 August 2006

From left: Mr Trevor O'Hoy, Dr Susan Lim and Mr Simon Molesworth AM QC last week received their awards as Distinguished Alumni of 2005.

Three Monash graduates who have travelled very different paths to success last week received the university's Distinguished Alumni Awards for 2005.

They were presented with their awards by the Chancellor, Mr Jeremy Ellis, at a gala dinner at the Grand Hyatt, Melbourne.

The award recipients are ground-breaking surgeon Dr Susan Lim (MB BS (Hons) 1979), who performed Singapore's first successful liver transplant; Mr Trevor O'Hoy (BEc 1976), President and CEO of Foster's Group; and Mr Simon Molesworth AM, QC (BA 1975, LLB 1977), who has made an outstanding contribution to conservation.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins congratulated the three recipients on their outstanding achievements.

"Each of you has made a vital contribution to your field," he said. "Monash University is proud to have you among its graduates. What you have achieved is remarkable, and I trust our current students find your accomplishments as inspirational as I do."

Born in Singapore, Dr Lim studied medicine at Monash, graduating with first class honours in 1979. "Monash gave me a sense of freedom to develop myself in an educational environment which challenged the status quo," Dr Lim said.

Dr Lim became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1984 and received a Gold Medal as the most distinguished candidate in general surgery for that year. She completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge in 1988 and returned to Singapore in 1989, where she is now based.

In the 30 years since he joined Carlton & United Breweries in 1976 as a cadet executive, Mr O'Hoy has demonstrated outstanding business acumen. He has steadily risen through the ranks, being appointed President of the Foster's Group in 2004.

"The values I learnt at Monash -- the importance of research, creativity and just plain hard work -- have been central to my career at Foster's," Mr O'Hoy said.

Mr Molesworth has been a Foundation Member of key national environmental law organisations, a Councillor of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) for 25 years, and National Chairman of the Australian Council of National Trusts since 2001. In 1994, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to the community in the field of conservation and the environment.

"I am humbled that the university from which I gained an excellent tertiary education has seen fit to award me with this honour," Mr Molesworth said.

Previous recipients of Monash's Distinguished Alumni Awards include refugee activist, philanthropist and barrister Mr Julian Burnside QC (2004); Dato' Dr Jannie Tay (2003); Mr Tony Pagone QC (2001); and Mr Tim Costello (1999/2000).