In 2004, a chance meeting between Indigenous scholar and then-UNSW academic Professor Lisa Jackson Pulver AM and the then President of the Board of Shalom (UNSW’s Jewish residential) College, Ilona Lee AM, led to the discussion of a residential scholarship for a specific Aboriginal medical student who was planning to drop out of university because of the long distance she had to travel each day. This meeting was followed by a second meeting, which included Dr Hilton Immerman OAM, College Master, and it was then that the idea of the Shalom Gamarada Indigenous Scholarship Program was born.
The program was established to enable Jewish philanthropists to contribute to closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians through higher education and by increasing the number of Indigenous professionals.
It provides residential scholarships to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who have been accepted into a degree at the University of New South Wales to live in the secure and supportive environment of Shalom College. This includes full room and board, academic support, and well-being support. To date, 60 students have graduated through the program, including 26 doctors and 15 lawyers.