BHP takes UWA chair

The resources sector is again at the forefront of community initiatives, with BHP Billiton Ltd committing $5 million to fund resources research and education at the University of Western Australia Business School.

BHP, whose stainless steel materials president, Jimmy Wilson, sits on the UWA Business board, joins the likes of Woodside Petroleum Ltd and Chevron Corporation in sponsoring a professorial chair at the university.

The funding will support the establishment of the BHP Billiton Chair in the Business of Resources as well as new research initiatives, new scholarships, targeted training and education.

The BHP commitment will help underwrite UWA’s efforts to promote its credentials in the resources sector, having recently employed former Chamber of Minerals and Energy chief Tim Shanahan to become director of its energy and minerals initiative.

The most established institution in the state, UWA is jostling for recognition in the resources space against Curtin University of Technology, where BHP has also funded a resources and chemistry precinct.

Getting BHP on board at UWA further signifies the success of UWA’s other big push, to create a world-class business school. In the past three years it has built a blue-chip board chaired by Mark Barnaba and commenced building a brand new headquarters.

UWA Business School dean Tracey Horton, who has recently returned from the launch of foundations in the US and UK to help raise funds for the whole university from expatriate alumni, said BHP wanted to fund business education in WA.

“This is where they are and where they are having an impact, and they want to invest back into the community,” she said.