Alumni & Community House
A place for everyone to belong.
You can be part of creating something special: a space that threads our communities together.
Alumni & Community House, built in the heart of Newcastle will be open for all; one of the few truly public spaces for our community.
Where everyone is welcome and feels a sense of belonging.
Where we will connect, collaborate and have our collective impact celebrated.
Where we will provide meeting, working and event spaces for our community, non-profit partners, local businesses, students and our Alumni.
It will thread our communities together, elevating engagement with each other and the University.
Your tax-deductible donation today will help ensure this important space is realised for the community. And to recognise your generosity, every gift towards Alumni & Community House will be acknowledged within the building.
For generations to come, people will wander through this beautiful building to find the names of the kind people who made it possible.
The Great Hall was imagined and built as the symbolic heart of our University over fifty years ago, when community, industry and government united to raise $600,000 for its development.
More than 174,000+ alumni have proudly crossed its stage to accept their degrees and celebrate with family and friends.
Alumni & Community House will continue this wonderful tradition of our University being established by the community, for the community.
You can join the amazing people who have already made a donation to help bring this important space to life for our community.
Your donation will support Alumni & Community House.
To donate to another cause click here
Share this page
Spaces and Activities
Alumni & Community House will be located on the former TPI House site (now vacant land) at 231 King Street, Newcastle. The University of Newcastle has committed a cornerstone investment of $5 million, as well as the site at 231 King Street, towards this project. It is our aspiration to raise a minimum of $10 million in philanthropic support for the project.
This is an inspirational project, connecting with global communities from the heart of Newcastle, and one where every donor is recognised for their generous donation. To cement your support and make a gift with impact please contact the Alumni & Community House project team for more information about naming recognition – alumni@newcastle.edu.au or +61 2 4921 7892.
Facilities
- Virtual and physical engagement with our global alumni
- Alumni to student engagement; for example: mentoring, recruitment services and career development opportunities
- Pop-up/Drop-in business opportunities
- Alumni celebrations
- Alumni networks and chapter meetings and events
- Professional development events for alumni and students
- Networking events and opportunities
- Hosting of private events
- Community lectures and gatherings
- Performances and exhibitions
Recognising your generosity
- $2 - $49
Gifts under $50 will be recognised digitally within the building.
- $50 - $49,000
Gifts will be inscribed permanently* withing the building commensurate with your gift level.
- $50,000 - $1M+
Naming recognition could be of a board or meeting room, teaching space, courtyards or gardens, or one of the verandas.
Alumni-LED Engagement Project
To bring this fantastic community project to life, the University launched an Australian Institute of Architecture (AIA) Architectural Design Competition, inviting leading architectural firms to set out their vision for Alumni & Community House. It was imperative that all firms had alumni representation in their project team. The competition received more than 100 initial registrations, which led to 32 design teams submitting an Expression of Interest. Four finalists were ultimately selected, and the winners were Durbach Block Jaggers Architects with Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture, Cox Inall Ridgeway, Surface Design and Northrop who together created the physical vision of Alumni & Community House. Importantly, over 70 alumni participated in the competition across all firms that entered, cementing our commitment of connection and collaboration with our alumni.
A Project That Inspires
Meet our dedicated ambassadors — proud Alumni championing this project.
Elyssia Gasparotto
Bachelor of Aboriginal Professional Practice/Bachelor of Laws (Honours)
“I am excited to discover and use the inclusive and culturally safe spaces that Alumni & Community House will offer. Alumni & Community House will provide a tangible way for me to stay connected with the University and greater communities once I graduate by providing an accessible platform for collaboration. As someone who has participated in the University’s global-facing leadership mentoring program of iLEAD Plus, and the Ma & Morley Scholarship program, I truly appreciate the amazing impact Alumni can have by giving back to the community.”
The late Dr Bernard Curran AM
Doctor Of Philosophy 1974; Bachelor Of Arts 1968
“The University of Newcastle was established by the community, for the community and plays an important role in the life of our city. The creation of an Alumni & Community House not only provides a front door to the University in the CBD, it will harness community connections, promote inclusivity and provide the nucleus for graduates to connect and celebrate. We have such a rich and vibrant history in our short existence and, in Alumni & Community House, we have a stage to reminisce, tell our stories and proudly recognise the remarkable achievements of our alumni across the globe.”
Sanket Bothra
Bachelor of Business 2010
“I have such fond memories of my time as a student and am very proud to call myself an alumnus of the University of Newcastle. For the international alumni community, the opportunities created by Alumni & Community House will extend around the globe, becoming a virtual engagement hub for us to connect with friends, industry and the Newcastle community and I look forward to visiting our new home for alumni in the city centre.”
Dave Karlson
Master Of Business Administration 1993; Bachelor Of Mathematics 1981
“The facilities Alumni & Community House can offer will be a fantastic asset for our alumni community and the University. There is a need for bookable business and conference facilities in the city to support our alumni and business communities, to connect us to each other, to our industry ventures and partnerships and virtually with our colleagues around the world. As more and more of our alumni community transition to working remotely, without the need for permanent office spaces, Alumni & Community House will offer alumni a vital resource in Newcastle.”
Emily Bowen
Bachelor of Business 2011
“Alumni & Community House will foster mentor opportunities both organically and proactively. But also it’ll give us a really easy, accessible way to actually connect to people that are further afield, perhaps using technology that?already there for us or even just through meeting someone that we wouldn't have otherwise met.”
Dr Patrice Newell AM
Doctor of Philosophy (Environmental Science) 2015
“Alumni & Community House is in one of the best spots in the city. For me it’s a magnet that will draw me back to Newcastle more often.”
David Newham
Bachelor of Social Science 2007; Diploma of Aboriginal Studies 1998
“I have visions that this becomes a place that blends and sits comfortably in the cultural landscape both the traditional and contemporary space, and it's a place that our community feel like they can call into.”
