Charlie Perkins Scholarships launched at Rhodes House
The Charlie Perkins Scholarships to bring Indigenous Australian students to study at Oxford were launched today at a lunch at Rhodes House hosted by the Warden, Dr Donald Markwell.
In officially launching the scholarships, Professor Marcia Langton, Professor of Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne, spoke of the inspirational example of Dr Charles Perkins, for whom the Scholarships are named and the first Indigenous Australian to graduate from a university.
Dr Misty Jenkins, a graduate of the University of Melbourne and post-doctoral fellow in immunology in Cambridge, spoke of the importance of such educational opportunities for Indigenous Australians such as herself.
The creation of the scholarships has been spearheaded by a Rhodes Scholar, Richard Potok (New South Wales & St John’s 1984), who is Executive Director of the Charlie Perkins Trust.
The importance of the scholarships was reflected in the presence of heads of colleges and other senior figures from around the University of Oxford.
The Charlie Perkins Scholarships will provide full funding for living expenses, airfares and all tuition fees over a three-year period. The first scholarships have been funded by the Australian Government, the British Government (through the Chevening program), and Rio Tinto.
The first Charlie Perkins Scholars are expected in Oxford in October 2010.
The launch of the new scholarships will continue in London tomorrow with a reception at the Australian High Commission.
The Australian launch of the scholarships is set for 26 November at the British High Commissioner’s residence in Canberra.
Speech by Professor Marcia Langton at the Oxford launch of the Charlie Perkins Scholarships, Rhodes House, Oxford, 9 November 2009.
