Lumen Winter 2014 - Flipbook - Page 20
1970s Alumni Voice
Dr Tim Cooper AM
Medical studies inspire a future brewer
Dr Tim Cooper, AM, is the Managing Director and
Chief Brewer of Coopers Brewery. Before entering
the family business he practised hospital medicine
in cardiology in the UK. Dr Cooper graduated from
Adelaide with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in
1980 and a Master of Business Administration in 1998.
I undertook medical studies
(MBBS) from 1974 to 1979. In
those days we studied science
in our first year, including chemistry, biology,
physics and psychology, and traversed all
over the main campus.
In second and third year our focus turned
to medical sciences, including anatomy,
physiology, biochemistry and microbiology,
and increasingly we were located across
Frome Road. From fourth year we started
pathology, medicine and surgery, and
began to spend time in the Royal Adelaide
and Queen Elizabeth hospitals.
Most students at Adelaide were studying
for the professions, either medicine, law,
engineering, dentistry or architecture.
The other courses were arts, science and
economics. The courses offered seemed
straightforward and logical, and the campus
was an intriguing place for a young student.
New construction was occurring, with the
addition of the Hughes Building and Plaza.
Furthermore, the Union House was completed
in 1975, with modern facilities for student and
staff refectories, club rooms and the ‘Uni’ bar.
I spent many happy hours in the Uni bar,
particularly on quieter days, and it was
a meeting place to communicate with
students from the other faculties. In later
years, the Barr Smith became a more
familiar haunt, but the Uni bar was always
popular on a Friday night.
I was indifferent at sports at university,
dabbling in golf and rifle-shooting, but I
became interested in student politics. My
introduction was in 1975 when a group of
us became curious as to why some of our
Union dues were going (via the Student
Association) to the Labor Party.
We requisitioned a referendum to challenge
this, but we lost by a small margin of 48%
to 52%. I subsequently became Secretary
of the Student Association before being
encouraged to focus on my studies in my
latter clinical years.
Leading our Alumni Council
Dr Cooper is set to strengthen his connection with the University of
Adelaide as the inaugural Chair of the new Alumni Council. The Alumni
Council is an advisory group that aims to foster networks between alumni
and to support the strategic direction of the University.
The Council comprises six elected members, representing each of the five
faculties and the campuses of Waite and Roseworthy and 14 appointed
members, each appointed by the University Council. Five international
alumni, from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the United
Kingdom, also sit on the Alumni Council. A full list of Alumni Council
members can be found on our website.
For more information on the Alumni Council, please visit
www.alumni.adelaide.edu.au/alumnicouncil
18 Lumen | Winter 2014
Above:
Dr Tim Cooper AM
Right:
Tim as a student
I enjoyed my time at the University
immensely, as it was a time of personal
freedom and intellectual stimulus. Through
the relatively small campus and the union
facilities, I felt a sense of closeness with
the other faculties, making friendships
which have lasted. I returned to the
University in the 1990s, graduating with
an MBA in 1998.
I am pleased that nine current and former
directors of Coopers have studied at the
University, although my father Bill describes
himself as the original 'Uni dropout'!
On my mother’s side, four generations
studied medicine at Adelaide, including
my grandfather and his father, my uncle
and my sister. My wife Barbara (arts), and
daughters Louise (law and psychology)
and Sarah (design studies) are
more recent graduates.
By Dr Tim Cooper AM