Hale’s Head of Philosophy, Values and Religion, Mr Matthew Wills has been selected as one of the West Australians to be the recipient of the prestigious Vincent Fairfax Ethics in Leadership Foundation Churchill Fellowship for 2009.
A Churchill Fellowship is a national award to enable Australian citizens from all walks of life to travel overseas to undertake an analysis, study or investigation of a project or an issue that cannot be readily undertaken in Australia. Currently the average Fellowship cost is $25,000.
The trust received 1,129 applications nationally and 116 were from Western Australia.
Applications were received from all sectors from the arts, health and medicine, education to agriculture.
In his winning application Mr Wills wrote,” The Hale School Philosothon has been a wonderful success to date, both in WA and in other Australian states. I would like to build on this success by visiting schools and colleges in the U.S involved in a similar competition called an Ethics Bowl. I would visit the US Colleges currently running Ethics Bowls and observe, gather resources and network with professionals in the area of Philosophy and Ethics. The Ethics Bowls are the only equivalent national competition that I have come across and I would like to observe an Ethics Bowl and speak to people who co-ordinate this event about their experiences of running a national competition.
I would also like to visit Colleges and schools in the US where Philosophy and Ethics is being taught in order to develop networks and gather resources and ideas for teaching Philosophy and Ethics in Australian secondary schools. I will also have the opportunity to share our Australian Philosothon experience with others…. with a view towards others replicating the event in the US.”
Mr Wills will formally be awarded his fellowship on Thursday 20th August at WA Government House where the Governor will present him with his fellowship certificate. He will be taking up his fellowship in December 2009 and January 2010.
