Retired Melbourne veterinarian establishes new scholarship for rural students
Press release
5 December 2008
Top veterinary students from rural areas are to benefit from a $20,000 scholarship scheme.
One undergraduate will be chosen from the first year of the Veterinary Science degree, and they will annually receive a total of $5,000 for the duration of the four-year program.
The scholarship has been set up by retired veterinarian Dr Bill Riches and his wife Jenny, of Malvern.
Dr Riches, who has enjoyed a lifelong relationship with the Victorian countryside first as a vet in Wangaratta, Tatura and Hamilton then with his own farm and equine hospital in Berwick, says he wants to help vet students from rural areas meet the high costs of studying in the city.
He is also keen to address the shortage of vets in rural areas; usually a student who comes from a rural area returns there to work after qualifying.
“From settlement until the 1960s and 1970s it was the values of Australia’s rural and pastoral industries that put the country on the map but a lot of people today don’t have ties to that past,” said Dr Riches.
“We want to encourage more people to work in rural areas. This scholarship will help country students overcome financial hardships they might face coming to live in the city so that they can focus on their training rather than having to work long hours to pay for their studies.”
To apply, students must be Australian citizens with good academic records and have a home address in a remote or regional part of Australia for at least three of the past five years.
They must also have demonstrated interest in rural practice and an intention to return to regional or rural practice after graduation.
Mrs Riches said: “We want to create an opportunity for young people and are hoping that other donors, particularly vets, will contribute to this scholarship as well.”
Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Professor Ken Hinchcliff said: “Through the generosity and farsightedness of Bill and Jenny Riches, some of the best rural students will be able to take full advantage of the world class education in Veterinary Science offered by the University of Melbourne.” Noting that 47% of the School’s graduates in 2007 entered practice in rural areas, Hinchcliff added: “This scholarship continues the long tradition of Melbourne training the best and brightest students in agricultural animal medicine and equipping them for practice in rural areas.”
The first awards will be announced next year.
For further information please contact the Marketing Manager, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne, Tel: 8344 7844 or email: vet-communications@unimelb.edu.au