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From 2013, the UWA Business School will offer a new scholarship to students from rural and remote Western Australia who major in Economics as part of their undergraduate degree.

The James McClements Scholarship recognises the achievements of James McClements, a UWA Business School graduate, philanthropist and the co-founder of Resource Capital Funds.

The scholarship aims to encourage and support students from rural and remote parts of WA - particularly those who have an interest in the mining sector - to study Economics at UWA.

Valued at $7,500, the scholarship will be awarded in the recipient's first year of study.

A richer experience

Brian Dolan, an American lawyer and recently-retired Partner at Resource Capital Funds, said he wanted to establish the scholarship to assist students who - like McClements - may not otherwise have the opportunity to study at university.

Dolan first met McClements in the United States in 1994, working with the UWA graduate first in providing bank finance to mining companies and then, from 1998, with him at Resource Capital Funds, the first private equity fund focussing exclusively on the mining industry.

‘Out of that long, intellectually stimulating, financially successful and otherwise generally rewarding experience, I developed a terrific admiration for James and his personal values,' said Dolan.

‘As a young man from Newman a working class family, it was difficult for him to come to university. He could not have done it, I believe, without the assistance of a scholarship.  But with his UWA degree, this young person of intelligence and drive and, above all passion, persevered and progressed and ultimately founded Resource Capital Funds, a very successful series of investment funds. A part of his passion is directed at UWA, which gave him his start.'

Speaking of the importance of a university education, Dolan cites two compelling reasons for anyone with academic talent to aspire to university. ‘We all act throughout our lives mostly out of self-interest. That is human nature. The decision on whether or not to go to university as opposed to going into a trade will generally be (and should be) made on that basis,' he said.

‘Two items of self-interest, it seems to me, are quite compelling to send one off to university. First, if you have the talent, it is clear that an individual's earning potential over a career is greater with a university degree, by and large.'

‘Second, think of a university as a mental gymnasium. Time at university provides a foundation for a lifetime of more varied intellectual experiences by enhancing your ability to evaluate and think. It can lead to a much richer life experience.'

For Dolan, that richer experience has included a career in law - primarily in mining and oil and gas, and later, the opportunity to travel widely while working in private equity. ‘If I hadn't gone to university [Dolan holds an AB in pre-law and postgraduate law degree from Stanford University] I likely would not have had these opportunities. That is why we worked at structuring the scholarship in a way that would help and encourage people from rural regions who need the scholarship - to provide that added boost to get them over the line and into university,' he said.

‘It is wonderful to have the opportunity to establish this scholarship to acknowledge James and his qualities and accomplishments by helping others that share his background.'

Paying it forward

This philosophy of philanthropy being its own reward has held true for Dolan, who names one of his most satisfying achievements as having helped promote economic freedom for one Senegalese family and their village. Sadly, the work was prompted by the death of an East African refugee living in Denver, Colorado.

‘About 15 years ago Omar Jha, a man from Senegal  - who was living in an apartment with four other men to minimise expenses in order  to send money home to his wife and children in Senegal - was shot dead at midnight at a bus stop in downtown Denver after finishing his work. The shooting was a senseless act by an intoxicated troublemaker, a racist,' explained Dolan.

‘A series of newspaper articles after his death brought to light the life Omar had led - a life of hard work and constant striving to make money to support his family. He was an upstanding fellow - it brought tears to your eyes to read his story. So I, like many others, made a contribution to help support his family.'

A committee - which included Dolan, the manager at Omar's employer, the Imam from the local mosque, and a local Senegalese law student - was formed and tasked with applying the money contributed in ways that would best help Omar's wife and four children.

The committee bought a modest apartment building in Dakar to provide the family with a steady income. It purchased and gifted to the men's society in the village a diesel powered barge-mounted irrigation pump to assist the village in farming. It acquired several diesel powered grain grinding machines to be managed by the women's society to assist the village's women in their work, as well as to provide cash flow for village needs. In addition, the committee installed solar powered cells to provide light for the villagers to read at night, and brought a medical team and teacher into the village.

The results were immediate. ‘Whereas the village had been losing population for years, it began and has since continued to grow. It was a wonderful and very satisfying experience,' recalled Dolan.

The notion of giving back to society also inspired Dolan's decision to establish the James McClements Scholarship in the UWA Business School.

‘It [the scholarship] is partially in recognition of the fact that every day we get the benefits of the society we live in, in a range of ways - police protection, personal security, the opportunity to go to university, medical benefits and so on,' said Dolan.

‘If you think about it, if you had to pick a time to be a human on the face of this planet in the whole range of human history, we now, especially in places like WA, must be in the top one thousandth of one per cent of humans that have ever been here in terms of our opportunities - potential lifespan, quality of life, opportunity for our children and on and on. The scholarship is simply a way of recognising this good fortune in my case and paying it forward.'

For Dolan, the James McClements Scholarship represents a worthwhile investment in society and a way of helping the next generation of Economics students achieve their full potential at the UWA Business School.

Media references

Catherine Vogel (UWA Business School) +618 6488 7340
Rhonda Flottmann (UWA Business School)  +618 6488 2925