Sydney Medical School Foundation Council

At its meeting on 2 June 1958 the Post-Graduate Committee in Medicine decided to recommend to Senate the establishment of a Foundation for Post-Graduate Education and Research in Medicine.

 Following a motion by the Vice-Chancellor, Senate approved the recommendation at its meeting held on 7 July 1958 (Senate Minutes, 7.7.1958, p.448). On 3 November 1958 Senate approved the name change of the foundation to Postgraduate Medical Foundation. The Foundation was to raise funds from members of the private sector, who would manage the investment of the money. The University, in effect the Faculty of Medicine, would then advise on the most appropriate people and projects to fund. The major contributors were entitled to Council membership. The Senate retained the right to approve members of the Foundation's Council before they took office. The University was also represented on Council in an ex officio capacity.

The Medical Foundation's inaugural Council was made up of eight Governors, twelve Members, and eighteen Associate Members, with the University represented by the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, the Dean of Medicine, and the Professor of Obstetrics.

The sourcing of donations and the control and investment of monies raised were largely controlled by the Foundation, whereas the University's Post-Graduate Committee advised on the most appropriate funding targets.

The Council of the Foundation met for the first time on 30 July 1958. The first president of the Foundation was Mr Frank Packer. He presided over a body later described by Victor Coppleson as “comprised of men of great calibre."The Foundation's ethos was radical for its day. It would raise funds from members of the private sector, who would manage the investment of the money. The University, in effect the Faculty, would then advise on the most appropriate people and projects to fund. The model, based on the principle of an enduring investment fund, represented something of a departure from the more common contemporary practice of individual donations for specific projects.

From the outset the Foundation was organised and structured in such a way that major contributors were entitled to Council membership, whilst all donors were to be kept informed of Foundation activities. This transparency was to play a major part in its future success as a fundraising charity, for even at this early stage there was an acute awareness that people wanted to know where their money was going.

"On 7 December 2009, under item 7.6.2 Resolution 346/09, Senate approved the change of name from The Medical Foundation to Sydney Medical School Foundation."

For more on the history of the Sydney Medical School Foundation see 50 Years of Discovery: A History of the Medical Foundation, Sydney University Press, 2009 by Dr Vanessa Witton or the Sydney Medical School Foundation's Website at http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/foundation/about/history.php (viewed 29/1/2018).