School of Law awards excellence at inaugural prize giving ceremony

The University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney’s School of Law recently held its inaugural prize giving ceremony to honour those students who excelled in their studies for the 2008 Academic Year. Staff, families and friends gathered in St Benedict’s Church, Broadway to see students awarded for both their academic achievement and outstanding contribution to student life and community. The New South Wales Bar Association, LexisNexis (Butterworths), Thomson Reuters (Lawbook Co) and Oxford University Press sponsored the awards. Dean of the School of Law, Professor Gerard Ryan, congratulated the students for their accomplishments and hard work.. “This success doesn’t come without hard work. Many of you have faced and overcome enormous challenges in your lives and to achieve the results that you have is outstanding. “Through providing quality teaching within a caring and supportive environment we mean to enable each student to develop their talents to the best of their ability,” said Professor Ryan. The guest speaker for the evening was the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Professor John McMillan. Professor McMillan spoke of his experience as a staff member at the University of New South Wales’ law school in its foundation years, and commented on the rapport that exists between staff and students within the School of Law community at Notre Dame. “Notre Dame’s small class sizes and interaction with teachers is ideal. As a result, students in the first few years of this foundation law school will have a unique educational experience,” said Professor McMillian. Media contact: Moira Saunders 02 8204 440