A major new scholarship endowment – the Ian and Pamela Wall Scholarships – has been created to help students who are in need of financial support to be at St Mark’s.
Dr Ian Wall AM (1931-2022) was a resident student at St Mark’s in 1950-54, and later an Honorary Fellow. In gratitude for all that St Mark’s did for him, he and Dr Pamela Wall OAM became the largest ever donors to the College. They have also served jointly as Governors of the St Mark’s College Foundation.
In announcing the creation of the Ian and Pamela Wall Scholarships, the Chair of the College Board, Ms Linda Matthews, and the Head of College, Professor Don Markwell AM, said:
“Ian and Pammie Wall have a uniquely special place in the history of St Mark’s College, and in the hearts of College members. Their exceptional generosity to the College, providing facilities and other support for our students, is unparalleled.
“Members of the St Mark’s community are also proud that, with Pammie’s unstinting help and support, Ian Wall was co-founder of Codan, which became a globally successful company, and that together Ian and Pammie became among South Australia’s greatest modern philanthropists.
“Ian often said that he owed his success in life to what he gained from his years at St Mark’s. He also believed that he and others had, in his words, ‘almost a duty that you should reinforce the opportunity for those who are to follow in your steps’.
“Ian and Pammie acted on this conviction, and we could not be more grateful.
“Like Ian and Pammie, the College is determined to pass on the best opportunities we can to current and future generations of students.
“This requires working to support all students who need it through a major expansion of scholarships and other financial support for students. This is the key to many students having the opportunity to be at St Mark’s at all. The need among current and prospective students is very real.
“Greatly expanding our scholarships is the College’s highest priority as we head towards celebrating our Centenary in 2025.”
The creation of the Ian and Pamela Wall Scholarships is an important step towards this goal.
Ian and Pamela Wall Scholarships will be awarded to young people of potential who are in need of financial support to be at St Mark’s.
Dr Pamela Wall OAM said: “I am delighted that the Ian and Pamela Wall Scholarships will enable students to have the opportunity to be at St Mark’s that Ian valued so much, and that made such a positive difference in his life.
“I look forward to presenting the inaugural scholarships in coming months.
“I am also delighted that Ian’s memory will be honoured in this way in the College both he and I have loved so much.
“It has been a joy for us to do all we can to help the College and the students.”
The Ian and Pamela Wall Scholarships fund will be managed with the goal of at least preserving its real value in perpetuity, and ideally increasing in value to create further opportunities for students in need to gain the benefits of College life.
An inaugural round of Ian and Pamela Wall Scholarships has already been held. Applications were recently invited from current St Mark’s students, with applications assessed on the basis of financial need. This inaugural round has seen five scholarships of $2,000 each awarded, and it is expected that larger awards will be possible in future years.
The College’s tribute to Ian Wall on his passing in October 2022 is here.
The image above is of the portrait of Ian and Pamela Wall by Tsering Hannaford that hangs in the St Mark’s College Dining Hall. There is background to it here.
For details of College scholarships, click here.
To donate to create life-changing opportunities for students to be at St Mark’s, click here.
