1995
CITATION
Award of Doctor of Philosophy honoris causa
Mr John Reid AO
John Reid, born in Wahroonga, New South Wales, was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne and at the University of Melbourne where he was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1954. He was to become one of Australia's outstanding businessmen. Within ten years of graduation he had become a Director of James Hardie Industries Limited, of which he has been Chairman since 1973. He has been a Director of BHP since 1972, of the International Advisory Board, Swiss Banking Corporation since 1986 and Focus Publishing Pty Ltd since 1991. Beyond his business activities his role inAustralian public life has been enormous. He served as Chairman of the Australian Bicentennial Authority from 1979 to 1985, was a Director of World Expo '88, and has been Chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art since 1994. He has been a member of innumerable government committees and boards, including the Commonwealth Administrative Review Committee, the Jndependent Inquiry into the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories and the Population and Immigration Control Council. In addition he has had significant involvement in a wide range of charitable and philanthropic endeavours including the Salvation Army, the Institute of Respiratory Medicine, the Stanford Research Institute USA, the Thailand-Australia Foundation Limited, the Ian Clunies Ross Memorial Foundation, and the Australian Scout Education and Training Fund. It \Vould be hard to imagine a more far-reaching and all-embracing career of public service and influential work. Within the educational sphere John Reid, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, has been a board member of the Australian Graduate School of Management since 1991. He has been a great supporter of the University system in general and the University of Queensland in particular, a strong influence in strengthening the ties with the business community and a notable supporter of the campaign to restore the Brisbane Customs House.
Mr Chancellor, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to business in Australia, to the University of Queensland and to higher education, I present to you John Boyd Reid, AO, LLB Melbourne, HonDBus Charles Sturt, FIEAust, CPEng, FAIM, for the conferral of the award of Doctor of Philosophy honoris causa, to which he has been admitted by the Senate of the University.