September 17, 2021

Committed to social justice, 30 years on

Jack Goldring Memorial Fund supports law students passionate about social justice

The University of Wollongong (UOW)’s School of Law continues to support ambitious law students and graduate strong leaders who are passionate about social justice thanks in part to the legacy of its founding Dean of Law and support of dedicated donors.

The late Professor Jack Goldring, UOW’s founding Dean of Law, was a man motivated by social justice, an educator and leader in the university sector, a distinguished law reformer, and a highly regarded judge of the District Court of NSW.

The Jack Goldring Memorial Fund was created to uphold Professor Goldring’s commitment to social justice, legal education and law reform, through an annual scholarship awarded to students who combine academic excellence with a demonstrated passion and commitment to social justice.

Australia’s largest regional law firm, RMB lawyers, helped launch the Jack Goldring Memorial Fund eight years ago along with more than 100 other UOW donors. RMB Lawyers have recently confirmed their ongoing support through their recommitment for another five years, an additional $25,000, marking their third substantial donation to the fund.

Dean of the School of Law Professor Trish Mundy (pictured above) said the Jack Goldring Memorial Scholarship was the School’s most prestigious scholarship offering, valued at $10,000.

“We are incredibly proud of this scholarship and the fact that it aligns so well with the School’s social justice values,” Professor Mundy said.

“It is a means of recognising the great contributions that many of our law students are making to advance social justice.”

The School of Law is celebrating its 30th Anniversary year in 2021 and Professor Mundy acknowledged the important role donors play in providing opportunities to support social justice activities and programs for students.

“The Jack Goldring Memorial Scholarship would not be possible without the substantial support of donors such as RMB Lawyers. The Scholarship assists the School to continue the important work and vision of Jack Goldring in providing opportunities to students with a passion and commitment to making a difference through education, advocacy, access to justice, public policy and law reform,” Professor Mundy said.

^{RMB Lawyers Managing Partner Craig Osborne with 2019 Goldring Scholarship winner Grace Crivellaro.}  

Previous Goldring Scholarship recipients, dedicated to Jack Goldring’s vision for a better society, include a student motivated to make a difference in the criminal law space through greater rehabilitative programs for offenders, a student working to effect change for war veterans, and last year’s recipient, Grace Welsby, who worked with the Woolyungah Indigenous Centre to support the first-year law mentoring program and the mentoring initiative for Aboriginal law students.

Craig Osborne, Managing Partner of RMB Lawyers and Donor Representative on the scholarship panel for the Jack Goldring Memorial Scholarship, said supporting UOW students who are passionate about social justice aligned closely to his firm’s philosophy.

“Lawyers and law students who dedicate much of their working lives to social justice issues of all shapes and sizes merit the support of all of us,” Mr Osborne said.

“The principles laid out for us by the late and great Jack Goldring of fairness and equity for everyone of all ages and backgrounds, unwavering compassion and a keen eye on social justice and law reform for the good and benefit of all people, set a high standard for all of us who practice law in all of its disciplines including teaching.”

Mr Osborne believes providing ongoing support, financial and other, to the Scholarship and beyond is fundamental to RMB’s purpose “to provide resources and capability to the communities where we live work and serve” particularly in regional Australia.

In order to offer this scholarship on a permanent basis, UOW must secure enough funds to endow the scholarship and is inviting the community to get involved to ensure it remains an annual offering.

The recipient of the 2021 Jack Goldring Memorial Scholarship will be awarded on Thursday, 21 October 2021 in conjunction with the annual Goldring Lecture.

To learn more about donating to the Jack Goldring Memorial Fund visit: https://giving.uow.edu.au/case-studies/law/

Further information about the Scholarship is available from UOW’s website: https://scholarships.uow.edu.au/scholarships/search?scholarship=561