Tributes have begun coming in for the late Bill Lovegrove, a champion for education and avid sportsman.
The former acting president of the Nan Tien Institute passed away on Friday, the Mercury understands the 76-year-old lost his battle to brain cancer.
The current president of Nan Tien Institute Denise Kirkpatrick said Professor Lovegrove has led the education facility through a "critical stage" in its development.
"Under his astute leadership Nan Tien Institute has developed a reputation for high quality graduate education that melds the mind and body," Professor Kirkpatrick told the Mercury.
"Bill was passionate about keeping sight of the 'heart' in education. He worked closely with the local community to raise the profile of NTI and ensure that our educational programs met local needs. He will be remembered by all staff with great affection and will be greatly missed."
The Illawarra Triathlon Club paid tribute to their long-time member on Tuesday afternoon and his passion for the sport.
"Bill was a passionate athlete and a regular at our club events over the years, and a loving husband, father, and grand-father," they posted on social media.
Peter Caputi, the current head of psychology at the University of Wollongong, said he first met the professor when he was a student during the mid-1980s.
Professor Caputi said despite Professor Lovegrove taking leadership roles at various other institutions after he left UOW, he continued to keep his strong ties with Wollongong intact - especially with the UOW School of Psychology.
"Bill never stopped contributing to the place," he said. "He was a very, very generous man."
As an Emeritus Professor, he continued to stay active with UOW and supervised honour students and PhD candidates.
In 2017, Professor Lovegrove was honoured with an Order of Australia on January 26 for dedicating his life to higher education - admitting at the time he had "failed at retirement" as he continued to champion education.
At the time, he had said he owed a big part of his service to education to his wife Desolie who supported through his time in psychology research at the UOW, to becoming the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southern Queensland and various other senior positions at tertiary institutions.
"Higher education changes lives and it changes families' lives," Professor Lovegrove had said.
"What I've been able to do in leadership terms is to improve the quality of higher education and significantly broaden the opportunity for higher education."
At the time, Professor Lovegrove explained to the Mercury how January 26 was a significant day for he and his family who were all keen sportspeople with several members competing in the regular Aquathon.
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Illawarra Mercury website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.
Desiree Savage
I write about arts and entertainment, plus other bits and pieces in between at the Illawarra Mercury.
I write about arts and entertainment, plus other bits and pieces in between at the Illawarra Mercury.
