Inaugural Mark Lyons Oration
29 June 2010 at 3:01 pm
International academic, Helmut Anheier, Dean of the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin and Chair of Sociology at Heidelberg University, has delivered the first oration in honour of Australian researcher Professor Mark Lyons who passed away in November 2009.
Professor Helmut Anheier delivered the inaugural Mark Lyons Oration, hosted by the UNSW’s Centre for Social Impact, and the Cosmopolitan Civil Societies Research Centre, UTS focusing on Lyon's significant contribution to the Not for Profit sector.
Professor Mark Lyons was the Director of Research at CSI and Adjunct Professor of Social Economy at UTS.
Opening the Oration, CSI’s Professor Peter Shergold said that Lyons was recognised for at least two decades as the academic who knew most about the extraordinary diversity of Australia’s Not for Profit organisations. He said the quality that truly distinguished Lyons was that he cared about these organisations.
Professor Helmut Anheier worked with Lyons a range of international co-operative research projects over 20 years on the size, scope and role of the Not for Profit sector in 30 countries.
Anheier spoke about the significant contribution Lyons made to research and the development of the third sector, both nationally and internationally, predominantly through his teaching and research at the University of Technology, Sydney. Anheier praised Lyons’ ability to act as a conduit between Australia and the international research community.
Professor Mark Lyons was the Director of Research at CSI and also Adjunct Professor of Social Economy at UTS, where he developed a 20 year career in teaching and research.
Mark Lyons died in November 2009 after a battle with cancer. Lyons’ widow Carolyn Pettigrew and sons Bede and Benedict were special guests at the Oration, which was followed by an intimate dinner of his colleagues and associates.
