Hope donation will encourage others

The chairman of the trust which is funding 15 performance scholarships at the University of Otago hopes the donation will encourage other trusts and individuals to do the same.

The Callis Charitable Trust, a Dunedin-based organisation founded by Joan and Lyell Callis, has given $75,000 to fund 15 scholarships over the next three years.

The university hopes to award up to 50 scholarships over the next five years to recognise academic achievement and performance excellence in sport, culture, music and the arts.

They will be awarded to secondary school pupils about to undertake their first year of tertiary study at the University of Otago.

Callis Trust chairman Sir Eion Edgar said on Friday he was pleased the trust was the founding supporter.

"I hope that this will encourage other individuals and trusts to also offer financial support for this excellent initiative."

The Anglican Bishop of Dunedin, Bishop Kelvin Wright, would be the trust's representative on the scholarship selection panel, he said.

University director of development Assoc Prof David Gerrard said the scholarships would provide opportunities for future scholars who might aspire to the performance success of past Otago graduates, such as singers Jonathan Lemalu and Anna Leese and athletes David Kirk, Anton Oliver and Alison Shanks.

Elite sporting performance was of particular interest to the university, as many of New Zealand's most outstanding sportsmen and women had emerged from within the university's ranks, he said.

Nominations for the first round of 10 scholarships will open soon. The recipients will receive a $5000 allowance to offset fees or accommodation, and a guaranteed place in a college of residence.