Media Release (16 May 2008)

Arts student receives scholarship for further studies

Luther College graduate, and Trafalgar resident Fiona Broom received a prestigious award at Monash University Gippsland’s Humanities, Communications and Social Sciences awards evening.

Fiona received the Peter Kerr Scholarship, which is awarded to a student who has completed an undergraduate degree in the Arts faculty, and wishes to pursue higher studies.

Fiona achieved outstanding results in her undergraduate studies, and has successfully completed a Bachelor of Arts at the Gippsland campus with a double major in Journalism and History/Politics. She also went on exchange to the Netherlands for a semester in her third year.

Fiona is now currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) where she combines Journalism and Politics. Her dissertation will focus on issues around citizenship for women in Islamic states. She is also hoping to continue further postgraduate study.

Dr Peter Kerr, was a lecturer in History and Politics on the Gippsland campus in the mid 1970’s, and was awarded a PhD in Politics. He went on to become an advisor to Jeff Kennett, and was Director of the Institute of Public Affairs. Business, academic and political associates donated money for this scholarship to commemorate his life.

“I feel really honoured to have the Peter Kerr scholarship because it’s so prestigious and because I know that Peter Kerr had a love of politics and Gippsland, just like I do,” Fiona said.

Fiona will be using the scholarship to head to the ‘Globalisation for the Common Good: An Interfaith Perspective – From the Middle East to Asia Pacific: Arc of Conflict or Dialogue of Cultures and Religions’ international conference in July.

Media enquiries: Julia Auciello, Communications Coordinator, Monash University Gippsland, email: Julia.auciello@adm.monash.edu.au, phone:+61 3 512 26594