Andrew Forrest’s large philanthropic vow comes to fruition

The decline in Andrew Forrest’s fortunes has not halted a commitment he made to our largest philanthropic donation.

The decline in Andrew Forrest’s personal and business fortunes has not halted a commitment he made to the largest single philanthropic donation in Australian history.

Today, one part of his promised $65 million package of largesse will bear fruit, as five inaugural winners of three-year Forrest Scholarships for postgraduate research are handed their academic gifts by Andrew and Nicola Forrest.

The $65m promise — which he made publicly in October 2013 — comprises mainly of $50m for scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships across all five of West Australia’s universities.

A further $15m will help establish Forrest Hall — a new building on the University of Western Australia’s campus to house Forrest scholarship and fellowship recipients.

The scholarships are available to international and Australian PhD students but the inaugural winners are all from overseas. Their research areas include brain function, protein-rich arid plants, DNA studies in cancer onset and ocean floor geophysics.

Iron ore prices have fallen by more than 65 per cent in the past year, losing the Forrests more than $3 billion.