We're creating a new MBA scholarship in honour of former Dean Ian Harper
A new scholarship will celebrate excellence and the legacy of one of Melbourne Business School's most influential leaders.
When Professor Emeritus Ian Harper posted on LinkedIn that he had hosted his last formal event as Dean of Melbourne Business School, he unleashed a flood of comments celebrating his excellence as a teacher, leader and person.
"Ian Harper AO is a living legend and has left an enormous impact on MBS," said PwC Australia Director and Executive MBA graduate Genevieve Lobo.
"I feel very fortunate to have benefited from his mentorship."
To honour Professor Harper's legacy as a significant changer of lives, Melbourne Business School will launch a new scholarship in his honour to celebrate excellence and give more students the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
The Ian Harper Scholarship for Excellence will be open to applicants to the Full-time MBA program who can demonstrate academic excellence, a global outlook and ambition to make their mark as a respected leader in business and the community.
"Excellence describes the quality of everything Ian Harper has done throughout his career as a distinguished academic, Dean of the School and one of Australia's most influential economists," said Melbourne Business School Dean and Mr Harper's successor, Professor Jenny George.
"With your support, this new scholarship will celebrate Ian's legacy and encourage a new generation of MBA students to lead in business and the community."
Professor Harper spent 20 years as a professor at the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Business School before embarking on a series of influential public roles including Chair of the Australian Fair Pay Commission and Competition Policy Review, as well as serving on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia.
In 2018, he returned to Melbourne Business School as Dean to strengthen the School's relationships with business, the wider community and the University of Melbourne.
Professor Harper's final post as Dean on LinkedIn triggered dozens of comments from former students and business leaders.
"Some of my best memories from MBS were Professor Ian Harper's lectures," said Asif Iqbal, a payments team leader at Hewlett Packard in Austin, Texas, who studied at the School more than a decade ago.
"I hope he continues to contribute, and we get to learn from his insights and experience."
After completing his MBA more than two decades ago, KT Leong, a senior leader at CSL, said: "I have great memories of your stories during the class – so insightful... and keeps me alive after a long day at work."
In Professor Harper's final video farewell message to the Melbourne Business School community, he said that deans "come and go", but the School would always be a place that changes lives.
“I really want to thank so many of you who've sent through very warm and encouraging messages on my retirement,” Professor Harper said.
“So many people talked about life-changing experiences at the School, and some were kind enough to say that I had personally been involved in that life-changing experience, which is very heart-warming.
“I want you to make that experience available for the next generation and for generations after that. I want you to sustain and help to grow this institution so that it will provide the same types of experiences, life changing, unleashing experiences that you yourselves have had.
“Deans come and go. What remains is the ethos of the School and the alumni. You will be alumni of this institution for the rest of your lives. And so, I ask you, as alumni of Melbourne Business School, to keep the flame alive, keep this institution growing, keep it strong so that it will continue to unleash ideas and leaders for generations to come.”
To contribute to the Ian Harper Scholarship for Excellence, visit our Giving page.
To find out more about studying at Melbourne Business School, visit our Degree Programs and Short Courses pages, or learn about our range of services For Organisations.
Help support a special scholarship that honours a career of excellence and man who changed lives.