A renowned academic retired and was made an Emeritus Professor at the University of Wollongong, while his son received the honour of a Bachelor during the same ceremony on Wednesday.
Edward Wolfers joined UOW in 1987, retiring after an outstanding contribution to education, international development, governance and peace-building. Jared Wolfers, 22, conceded the day was ‘‘a big thing’’ as the institution was always part of their family life.
‘‘To come here to a place where [my father had] taught and a place he holds close to him is a nice thing. I’m the first one from our family to come here and finish here, so that’s pretty cool as well,’’ he said. ‘‘I actually had dad lecture me once, which was a bit different – a bit weird.’’
The Austinmer local is happy to take a break after finishing his commerce degree, with no current aspirations to follow his father’s footsteps into academia. Instead, he wants to find the perfect job in banking or finance. ‘‘I don’t really have a target industry ... but I’m really passionate about economic development,’’ he said.
‘‘I see studying economics more as a way of thinking as opposed to learning something, as you can apply that to general things in life, like decision making.’’
