These women made it in business. Now they’re going back to school
With changes to university funding models making business people more attractive to university leadership roles, BOSS talks to seven women at the top of high-profile tertiary institutions.
Belinda Hutchinson was determined to go to university because, unlike her brothers, she was never encouraged to continue academic studies. Alison Watkins assumed she would marry a farmer and go to agricultural college to pick up a qualification that would be useful on a farm. Jennifer Westacott, who originally wanted to be a nun, says the day she graduated from the University of NSW was the proudest day of her life.
Westacott was the first in her family to go to university; her grandmother used to sneak in to lectures by Donald Horne, writer and author of The Lucky Country. Westacott’s uncle somehow wrangled seven extra seats to her graduation ceremony and bought a suit especially for the occasion.
Sally PattenBOSS editorSally Patten edits BOSS, and writes about workplace issues. She was the financial services editor and personal finance editor of the AFR, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. She edited business news for The Times of London. Connect with Sally on Twitter. Email Sally at spatten@afr.com
