Alumni award to Agent General

Alumni

University of Adelaide graduate and South Australia's Agent General, Maurice de Rohan OBE, has been presented with a Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the University, the community and his field of work.

Agent General de Rohan received the award from Vice-Chancellor Professor James McWha at a recent alumni event at Australia House in London.

After graduating from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Technology in 1960, Maurice de Rohan embarked on a spectacular career.

He was founding partner of Kinnaird Hill de Rohan and Young, which became Kinhill Engineers, and later Brown and Root Asia. He was Managing Director in the mid 1970s before moving to the UK in 1976 and continuing his interests in architecture, management and planning in the UK, US and Australia.

He was appointed Agent General in January 1998, a London-based position with a role of encouraging investment, trade and tourism to South Australia.

"Maurice is an outstanding and distinguished graduate of the University who, over the past few years, has assisted the University to build its alumni chapter in London," Professor McWha said.

"He is now Patron of the Combined UK Chapters of South Australian University Alumni Associations and regularly provides tangible assistance in supporting chapter activities."

Agent General de Rohan is also Estates Committee Chair at Lords, Chairman of the Cutty Sark Trust and Supervisory Board Member of the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies at King's College, London.

He has been chair of Disaster Action in the UK and remains a Trustee. He was awarded an Order of the British Empire in 1992 in recognition of his work as Founding Chairman of the Herald Families Association, for services to maritime safety.

The University keeps in touch with almost 400 of its alumni in the United Kingdom through distribution of Lumen magazine and through alumni events organised by the Combined South Australian Universities Alumni Chapter.

Story by Robyn Mills