Transformative gift will support future excellence in engineering

South Australian philanthropist Pamela Wall has donated
$5 million to the University of Adelaide to establish an endowed academic chair: the Ian and Pamela Wall Chair in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. This extraordinarily large and generous gift will kickstart the University of Adelaide’s 150th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign.

Pamela Wall – known by most as Pammie – and her late husband Ian, met while he studied at the University of Adelaide and she trained as a nurse at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Their generous philanthropic contributions have supported cutting-edge research, enriched the South Australian arts community, and provided opportunities for students, as well as supporting people with specialist medical care.

Through Pamela Wall’s generous donation, the Wall’s legacy will ensure continued excellence in electrical and electronic engineering for future University staff and students.

The University will also invest an additional $1.5 million to fund PhD research scholarships in the area of electrical and electronic engineering.

“We are immensely grateful to Pamela Wall for her generosity in driving academic and research leadership within the University’s Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology,” said the University of Adelaide’s Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Høj AC.

“The Ian and Pamela Wall Chair in Electrical and Electronic Engineering will make a significant contribution to our future research and education offerings, strengthening the University of Adelaide’s reputation as a globally recognised centre of excellence in electrical and electronic engineering.

“The core philanthropic values Ian and Pamela Wall shared are demonstrated by the tangible positive impact they have made on the South Australian community through their generous support of the University of Adelaide and many other local organisations.”
 

"The Ian and Pamela Wall Chair in Electrical and Electronic Engineering will make a significant contribution to our future research and education offerings, strengthening the University of Adelaide’s reputation as a globally recognised centre of excellence in electrical and electronic engineering."Professor Peter Høj AC, Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Adelaide.

Supported by Pamela, Ian Wall founded EILCO – the Electronics, Instrument and Lighting Company Ltd, with University of Adelaide friends Alastair Wood and Jim Bettison in 1959, with a vision to tackle a range of challenges in electronics engineering.

“The opportunity for Ian to study Electrical Engineering at the University of Adelaide in the 1950s led to key friendships, and a further opportunity to make scientific equipment for some of the University departments,” Pamela said.

“Ian and I have worked hard, but at the same time have always been aware of helping others. In the early days, our focus was on the business, but once that was on track, we could spread our wings and put time, effort and energy into other things.”

Pamela left nursing to marry and support her family and the establishment of EILCO. She was closely involved in the business and served on the Board for several decades.

EILCO became Codan in the 1970s and expanded overseas by exporting products and working directly with humanitarian organisations. A move into satellite communications technology resulted in real impacts for regional telecommunications across Pacific communities.

Since its early days, Codan has developed and supplied high-frequency radio equipment for the School-of-the-Air network and the Royal Flying Doctor Service across Australia. The United Nations adopted Codan radio equipment for their relief efforts, establishing Codan as the leading global supplier of high frequency communications to humanitarian organisations.

Codan pioneered equipment that supported the launch of Australia’s first domestic satellite system in the 1980s and launched the world’s first commercial modem for fast and fully automatic high frequency fax and data transmission in the 1990s.

In recognition of their exceptional service and significant impact to the South Australian community and the University of Adelaide over many decades, both through business and significant philanthropic initiatives, Ian and Pamela were both awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University (honoris causa) in 2022.

Pamela Wall’s generous gift demonstrates how the University’s history makers are paying it forward to support future staff and students to make their own history.