2021

The UTS Alumni Awards are a wonderful reminder of what a privilege it is to be Chancellor of our amazing university.

Thank you all for the vital contributions that you’re making and for changing our world for the better and thank you, too, for bring such outstanding role models.

Choosing just one recipient for the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence from this group was an incredible challenge. So great a challenge in fact I have chosen two individuals to share the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence.

So I’m delighted to announce that our winners of the Chancellor’s Award for 2021 are Ms Alana Valentine and Dr Sarah Benson.

 So please join me in congratulating Alana and Sarah.

I’m overwhelmed by the honour of this award. I would really like to thank UTS in a year when workers in the performing arts are suffering so much, for UTS to award this accolade to me and to all my colleagues who are working in the performing arts, I offer it up in recognition of them.

Having this recognition is an opportunity and it certainly provided an opportunity to reflect on my time at university, but specifically, all that UTS has to offer to produce us workforce ready graduates. And I think by receiving this award, my colleagues in the AFP and the broader community are looking at the value of UTS and the graduate and the education that UTS provides. So it’s a great opportunity to reinvigorate that partnership, shine a light on UTS and all that they have to offer. So thank you, it’s a huge honour and it has taken me by surprise, but a huge thank you.

Congratulations to every winner here this evening and I have to say on behalf of UTS that we are very proud that you are UTS Alumni.