The Head of College, Professor Don Markwell, was delighted recently to welcome back Old Collegians who were students at St Mark’s College over 50 years ago, and their partners.
The reunion luncheon provided an opportunity for Old Collegians to reminisce and catch up with their peers, to meet the new Head of College and hear how valuable a collegiate education at St Mark’s continues to be to university students today.
Old Collegian Dr Ben Robinson (1959-62, 1968) proposed a toast to the College and spoke warmly about his involvement with the College over the years, how the College has evolved, and its promising future.
In his response to the toast, Professor Markwell said that “like everyone who has come before me in my role in the College, from Sir Archibald Grenfell Price to my friend Rose Alwyn, I have a profound personal commitment to the educational value of collegiate life… As you will know, almost all, if not all, of the truly greatest universities in the world remain collegiate or essentially residential universities because the benefits to students are so great.”
Quoting from Sir Archibald Grenfell Price’s history of the College, Professor Markwell reflected on the founding vision and ideals of the College – “to be an educational institution in the great collegiate tradition derived from Oxford and Cambridge, which had helped to shape so many of the founders of the College (including Archie and CAS Hawker), and in the great tradition of Anglican collegiate education”.
“My view is that these are noble ideals which remain relevant always, and that we should aim to give the best effect we can in our time – in the 21st century – to these great ideals for which the College was founded.”
“We must do all we can to give our students, here in Adelaide, the best opportunities we can for all-round education and personal growth in this collegiate environment”.
Professor Markwell spoke of the success of the collegiate experience for St Mark’s students in 2019, demonstrated through their strong academic performance, leadership development opportunities, sporting contributions, engagement in cultural and musical activities, and their service to others, within both the St Mark’s community and the wider community.
Old Collegians who took part in the 50 year reunion lunch have positively impacted the broader community in many diverse ways, including through their literary works, medical and dental advancements, contributions to key primary and other industries, Christian ministry, and more.
Professor Markwell thanked the Old Collegians for their continuing support as many have continued to engage with the College and our students in a variety of ways since their university days. Some have been tutors and mentors to students, some have been advisors to the College and members of various College committees, guest speakers at events, and philanthropic donors.
Old Collegians have supported College building projects and scholarships to enable current and future generations of students to have the life-changing opportunities which they had at St Mark’s.
