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Three wise men to receive honorary awards
The University of the Sunshine Coast will present Honorary Doctorates tomorrow (Friday 9 April) to three men whose distinctive careers have been of national significance.
USC will honour the work of diplomat Richard Woolcott AC, Clean Seas Tuna founder and chairman Hagen Stehr AO, and renowned businessman, grazier and company director Tim Fairfax AM.
The honorary doctorates will be presented at USC’s annual Graduation ceremony, which is expected to attract a crowd of more than 3,000 people.
Mr Woolcott, whose extensive diplomatic career has included carrying out special envoy roles for Prime Ministers Holt, Whitlam, Howard and Rudd, will deliver the Graduation Address.
Mr Stehr will be honoured for his company’s ground-breaking research into producing tank-bred southern 
bluefin tuna in South Australia. Several USC academics and students are heavily involved in this important project.
And Mr Fairfax will be recognised for his extensive business achievements and for his strong involvement and support of USC. He recently retired from his roles as Deputy Chancellor and Chairman of the USC Foundation that he had held for the past 12 years.
More than 600 USC graduands will gown up tomorrow for what is likely to be the biggest single ceremony of its kind in Queensland this year.
The ceremony will be a bitter-sweet occasion for USC’s founding Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Thomas AM, as it will be the final graduation he presides over before his retirement in June.
The University has taken special steps to ensure no-one misses out on watching the graduation ceremony. The event will be video-streamed live on the USC website at <www.usc.edu.au> and featured on a big screen outside the stadium.
— Terry Walsh