One of the University's major supporters has been recognised for his philanthropy and his contribution to higher education.

Sir William Tyree OBE has won this year's award for outstanding philanthropic support of higher education from the Business Higher Education Round Table for his $1m commitment to a new laboratory in engineering.

In 2006 this prestigious award for philanthropy was awarded to London based alumnus Michael Hintze for his funding of the new Chair in International Security Studies at the University of Sydney.

Sir William Tyree's contributions to the University have been extensive and generous.
Following a $1m commitment in 2007 by Sir William Tyree OBE,a new Laboratory in Power Engineering will open in 2008. Sir William's gift supports the refurbishment of existing laboratory space, creating the world class physical infrastructure needed to implement the University's ambitious and innovative program in Power Engineering.

"Sir William Tyree certainly deserves this award," said Vice-Chancellor Professor Gavin Brown. "In addition to his very generous philanthropic support, and his advocacy of industry support for education, Sir William has been a committed and articulate advocate for the University of Sydney for many years," he said.

In 1982, Sir William and the AW Tyree Foundation funded the Tyree Chair of Otolaryngology, held by Professor William Gibson. Professor Gibson went on to establish the RPAH Adult Cochlear Implant Program in 1984 and the Children's Cochlear Implant Centre in 1986. Sir William's gift towards this area, then, has had an enormous impact on research and practice in the area of hearing impairment.

Also during the 1980s, Sir William and the AW Tyree Foundation were generous supporters of the Sir William Tyree Chair at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Between 1996 and 1999, Sir William and the AW Tyree Foundation funded four Sir William Tyree Scholarships in Computer Science to encourage excellence in the field of computer science.

Sir William and the AW Tyree Foundation have also been donors to the University's Optical Fibre Technology Centre, the Warren Centre's Sustainable Transport in Sustainable Cities forum, and the University's Melanoma Foundation.

Sir William says his commitment to education as an investment in Australia's future, is because "I want to try and improve the education of people coming on to replace us old blokes in Australia, because unless something is put back into education, Australia will not grow."