Citation for Mr Tim Fairfax AC
Chancellor,
Mr Tim Fairfax AC is a highly respected Australian grazier, community leader and philanthropist who has given generously to the arts, education and rural communities.
He is well known as a leader of Australia’s philanthropic community and as a passionate advocate for promoting home-grown philanthropy.
Mr Fairfax’s own philanthropic foundation, the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation, was founded in 2008, with a focus on ensuring that people living in rural, regional and remote parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory have access to the same opportunities as people in metropolitan areas.
This focus on building vibrant and resilient regional communities is also evident in his long-term involvement with the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal. He served as a Director of the Foundation from 2002 to 2017 and has been the Foundation’s Chairman since 2020.
Mr Fairfax currently serves as President of the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation and is a Director of the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation and also a former Chancellor of the Queensland University of Technology.
His lifetime of leadership has been recognised through a number of awards, including being named as a Queensland Great in 2013; Queensland Senior Australian of the Year in 2016; Queensland Community Philanthropist of the Year in 2018; and Australia’s Leading Philanthropist in 2021.
Mr Fairfax was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2014, for “eminent service to business and to the community” through his advocacy for philanthropy and his support for the visual arts, higher education and rural and regional development.
Chancellor, I present to you Mr Tim Fairfax, Companion of the Order of Australia, Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Doctor of the University honoris causa of Queensland University of Technology and Doctor of the University honoris causa of University of the Sunshine Coast, for the award of Doctor of the University honoris causa, bestowed by the Senate of The University of Queensland.
