The kindness of a UNE lecturer and his wife to an international student not only sparked a life-long friendship, but also prompted a $300,000 donation to the University of New England (UNE).
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Mr Wai Kwun Lam, from Hong Kong, was a boarder at The Armidale School in the 1960s when met Alfred McCready and his wife Irene, and now he and his wife, Pansy, have made the donation in memory of the McCreadys because they say they owe them so much as a family for their many kindnesses.
UNE Prof Greg Horsley (retired) knew Irene McCready and the Lams.
Alfred McCready taught classical languages (Greek and Latin) at the University of New England from 1958-76.
UNE has a long and proud tradition of teaching the Classics.
- Robert Heather
He grew up in the northern Queensland town of Mackay and was an accomplished student who studied at the University of Queensland, where he was a Classics gold medallist and later lectured. He also met his wife Irene there (who was also a classical scholar) before coming south to UNE.
"I guess they may have had some contact with the school, and must have offered to look after Wai Kwun Lam in school holidays, when he was not able to return home," Prof Horsley said.
"At least in some of those school holidays, they would take him back up to Queensland where Irene's sister had a property inland from Rockhampton."
The couple shared a passion for ancient cultures and languages (Greek and Latin) and were active in the Armidale community. Irene taught Latin at the New England Grammar School and organised classes in Modern Greek for students from Greek and Cypriot families.
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The Lam's donation will establish the AG and IC McCready Honours Scholarship for Classical Languages, to be offered for the first time this year, and seed a new AG and IC McCready Lectureship in Ancient Greek.
It was a gift that aimed to be the catalyst for an ongoing lectureship post for classical Greek. About $1.5 million is required to create the position and with this donation the university has raised $420,000 towards that goal.
Director of Advancement, Communications and Events at UNE, Robert Heather, said the donation inspired the fundraising campaign.
“Many universities have ongoing teaching or research roles supported by donations invested into an endowment fund, with the income generated supporting the salary and other costs of the position,” he said.
“Classics have been a core offering since the university commenced in 1938. The university has long prided itself on attracting dedicated teachers and high achieving students.
“Humanities courses, such as the Classics, provide students with core values and abilities that can be incredibly valuable throughout their career, and graduates in this field are increasingly sought after.”
After Alfred’s death in 1996, Irene was instrumental in establishing the AG & IC McCready Fund to support the work of UNE’s Museum of Antiquities. It made this outstanding collection more accessible to visitors, students and researchers and the Lams have also made several donations to the museum.
