First Chair of Social Investment and Philanthropy in Australia
20 August 2009 at 3:16 pm
Swinburne University of Technology has established Australia’s first Chair of Social Investment and Philanthropy.
The Truby and Florence Williams Chair of Social Investment and Philanthropy is a joint collaboration between Swinburne’s Asia Pacific Centre for Social Investment and Philanthropy and the ANZ Trustees. It was established through a grant provided by the Truby and Florence Williams Charitable Trust, managed by ANZ Trustees.
Roberto Scenna, Managing Director of ANZ Trustees says as a significant grantmaker in Australia, ANZ Trustees is acutely aware that building the capacity of charitable organisations can lead to greater social change and create broad ranging positive impacts in our society.
Scenna says that leading the way in establishing this Chair, will deliver further insights and create greater opportunities to build a philanthropically attuned society.
The Truby and Florence Williams Chair of Social Investment and Philanthropy is only the third funded Chair to have been secured by the university.
Centre Director Michael Liffman says that since its inception in 2001 the Asia Pacific Centre for Social Investment and Philanthropy has worked to develop world-class research and education programs in social investment and philanthropy.
The position is also supported by the Centre for Social Impact (CSI), a national initiative aimed at driving social innovation by building the capacity of Australia’s not-for-profit organisations and strengthening their relationship to the private and government sectors.
Founding partners of the CSI are the Asia-Pacific Centre for Philanthropy and Social Investment at Swinburne University of Technology, the Australian School of Business at UNSW and the Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne.
Swinburne will now commence a rigorous international search to fill this new position.