Two decades after it opened its doors, almost 1000 alumni turned out to celebrate Bond University’s 20th anniversary last month.

Travelling from Western Australia for the festivities, inaugural vice-chancellor Emeritus Professor Don Watts reflected on the challenges of setting up Australia’s first not-for-profit private university.

This week we launched our new television ad and website.

Students at Bond University’s newest Masters Degree may never lace-up a boot or crouch on starting blocks but they could still influence Australia’s Olympic standing, capture the AFL Premiership or better the nation’s Football World Cup record.

Bond University’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine recently launched its Masters of High Performance Science degree.

Our Dean of Health Sciences and Medicine Faculty has flown to Geneva to participate in World Health Organisation (WHO) discussions concerning the outbreak of swine flu.

Mixing family and business can be a challenge in itself, dealing with siblings and technologically-challenged parents.

And when times turn tough, family-run operations can be affected differently to non-family businesses.

Hong Kong-based Dr Hari and Padma Harilela have been announced as Bond University’s latest benefactors on the back of our 20th anniversary celebrations last month.

The couple has donated $1 million which will go into Bond University’s endowment pool for a scholarship to be called the Dr Hari and Padma Harilela Scholarship.

Showing up to plead your case in medieval garb is arguably contempt of court.

But for Bond University’s Law students, it was all part of their defense during a road show throughout Beenleigh, Ipswich, Southport and Brisbane magistrate’s courts in May.

Over almost 20 years, the John Burton Journalism Cadetship Scholarship has been the catalyst for many high-flying media careers.

When it was first introduced in 1990, the concept of alternating on-campus study semesters with on-the-job training as a cadet journalist at the Gold Coast Bulletin was an Australian first for Bond University.

Named after its instigator, John Burton – then Editor of the Gold Coast Bulletin and later a Visiting Journalist at Bond – it exemplifies the close partnerships with industry leaders that have since become Bond’s trademark.

In deciding to award the very first scholarship recipient to young Star of the Sea graduate, Deanna Nott (Alum 90) , the selection panel clearly chose well: Half way through her studies, Deanna won a Gold Coast News Media Award for Best Magazine Story and was selected to participate in News Limited’s own international exchange program which saw her living in Hong Kong for three months and reporting for the South China Morning Post.

She also won a Best Director’s award for producing a community service announcement on behalf of Riding for the Disabled.

“Studying at Bond University is one of the best things I have done in my life,” Deanna says.

“I am extremely proud of the fact that I attended Australia’s first private university, and in retrospect, realise how fortunate I was to have had virtually one-on-one training by some of the best professors and lecturers in the world.”

Graduating in 1993 with her Bachelor of Arts and majors in Journalism and Communication, Deanna started full-time work as a graded journalist at the Gold Coast Bulletin. Once again, she captured the judges’ attention at the Gold Coast News Media Awards, this time being named the year’s Best Cadet.

Her career veered in a different direction, however, when she joined the Royal Airforce Reserve as a Public Affairs Officer.

Moving to Sydney in the mid-90s, Deanna was appointed Sports Editor and then Deputy Editor of the Royal Australian Navy News.

Successive appointments and promotions have seen her working in Public Affairs for Defence Force Recruiting in Canberra and at Air Command Headquarters for the Royal Australian Airforce.

Deanna is currently based in Canberra as Director of Communication Reserve and Employer Support Division Vice Chief of the Defence Force Group Department of Defence.