FOUNDING THE SUNSHINE COAST MIND AND NEUROSCIENCE - THOMPSON INSTITUTE A personal account on the First Anniversary Maxwell Bennett AO Chair of the Board Frontispiece. The Sunshine Coast Mind and Neuroscience - Thompson Institute observed from Innovation Parkway in Birtinya. CONTENTS Contents .......................................................................................... 5 Preface ............................................................................................. 1 Note to the Reader ........................................................................... 3 2011 | Obtaining approval for the idea of an institute at USC: Vice- Chancellor and President Professor Greg Hill................................. 5 2012 | Finding a chair for a foundation to raise funds: Sir Angus Houston AK, AFC (ret’d)............................................. 11 2013 | Maintaining enthusiasm for the institute concept: Mr Don Maconachie ..................................................................... 15 2014 | Showing the success of the Sydney Institute as a model: Mr Roy Thompson AC.................................................................. 17 2015 | Mr Roy Thompson AC funds the model: Chancellor Rev John Dobson OAM .............................................. 19 2016 | Obtaining USC infrastructure financial support but failure to obtain State Government support: Professor Greg Hill............. 33 2017 | Obtaining an MRI machine: Mr Roy Thompson AC ....... 37 2018 | Launching the ‘Sunshine Coast Mind and Neuroscience - Thompson Institute’: The Hon Greg Hunt MP ............................. 41 PREFACE The demographics concerning anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide are poor at sites along the eastern coast of Australia, stretching from Maroochydore to Mackay. This was made evident to me by Mr John Mendoza, head of the mental health consulting practice ConNetica on the Sunshine Coast. He had invited me to speak at a symposium on the Sunshine Coast campus of the University there in early 2011, in my capacity as Founding Director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute at The University of Sydney 1 . This Institute was established from 2002-2006 on the unique idea of bringing together experts in neuroscience, neurology, psychology and psychiatry in the one setting, where both fundamental interdisciplinary research could be carried out and clinical support offered to patients with malaises of the brain and mind involving treatments informed by the latest research. It occurred to me that such an institute was needed on the Sunshine Coast, hosted by its University. I asked Mr Mendoza to contact the Vice- Chancellor and President, Professor Greg Hill, and enquire whether he and his executive would hear a presentation from me on such a possibility. It seemed to me unlikely that such a presentation would be successful, as a vice-chancellor with the strategic vision of Professor Gavin Brown AO at The University of Sydney when our Institute was established, is rare. The first great piece of luck was that Prof Hill was such a vice-chancellor, and he enthusiastically backed the project. As this brief history indicates, matters then became very difficult, as the raising of over $85 million from government and philanthropy in 2002-2006, was unlikely to be successful following the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008, together with the decline of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product following that of mining exports. Furthermore, a community leader of the caliber of Mr David Gonski AC, who led the 1 Bennett AO, Maxwell. Founding the Brain & Mind Research Institute A personal account on the 10th Anniversary. Sydney: The University of Sydney, 2013. Preface 1 fundraising for the Sydney Institute, was very unlikely to be found for a relatively small community like that of the Sunshine Coast. However, as the following pages note, we again became very lucky when Mr Mendoza persuaded Sir Angus Houston AK, AFC (ret’d) to become chairperson of our fundraising foundation. Finally, although repeated approaches to government to fund the institute project were unsuccessful, given the stringencies of the state and federal government budgets at the time, we once more ‘struck gold’. A couple living on the Sunshine Coast of great generosity and commitment to the people there, Mrs Nola Thompson and Mr Roy Thompson AC, came to the rescue as described below, with a succession of magnificent financial gifts. The following is not an exciting narrative, and indeed quite boring to those who did not participate in the events that led to the founding of a new institute. There is also too much use of the personal pronoun, which cannot be avoided if a short personal account is to be given of the path we took in establishing the Institute. It is written to celebrate a remarkable group of individuals, Mrs and Mr Thompson together with Prof Hill and Sir Angus. Professor Maxwell Bennett AO Chair of the Board, Sunshine Coast Mind and Neuroscience - Thompson Institute Founding Director, Brain and Mind Centre (formerly Brain and Mind Research Institute) 2 Founding the Sunshine Coast Mind and Neuroscience - Thompson Institute NOTE TO THE READER Over one hundred documents are in the archives of the Sunshine Coast Mind and Neuroscience - Thompson Institute from which I have chosen a few dozen to authenticate the narrative. Each of these has been given a number that is indicated at different appropriate sites in the text in parentheses. These documents are available on request. Note to the Reader 3 4 Founding the Sunshine Coast Mind and Neuroscience - Thompson Institute 2011 | OBTAINING APPROVAL FOR THE IDEA OF AN INSTITUTE AT USC: VICE-CHANCELLOR AND PRESIDENT PROFESSOR GREG HILL At the end of May, I pledged finance for Mr John Mendoza’s colleague Mr Steven Niemiec to have documents, previously prepared for the establishment of the Brain and Mind Research Institute, to use as a template for a 20-page brochure on the future of what I called the Queensland Mind and Neuroscience Institute (QMNI). A down payment was then provided to fund the first draft of this brochure (see documents 2011/1 to 2011.8 henceforth 11.1 to 11.8). Mr Mendoza, who lives on the Sunshine Coast, then sought direct confirmation from Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Greg Hill (Figure 1), that the QMNI brochure set forth an accurate vision of what we had previously expressed at the original presentation to the Vice-Chancellor and President’s Executive. The Vice-Chancellor and President gave a very positive response (11.2 and 11.4). Subsequently, in June, the new Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Professor Roland De Marco, approved the draft of the QMNI document, which at that stage was in the form ready for further professional development. The QMNI document, by the end of June, had gone through several iterations involving further input from Prof De Marco, Mr Niemiec, Mr Mendoza (Figure 2) and myself (Figure 3), all facilitated by the Director of USC’s Office of the Vice-Chancellor and President (formerly Director, Executive Projects Unit), Mr Don Maconachie (Figure 4). This now included the Brain and Mind Research Institute (Sydney) and the Orygen Institute (Melbourne), as supporting partners (11.5). This document refers to Mr Mendoza and Professor Maxwell Bennett AO as the persons to be contacted by those interested in supporting the venture. Mr Mendoza then sought a further meeting with the Vice-Chancellor and President, Prof Hill, seeking final approval for the venture and mentioning Prof Bennett and himself as “being the originating partners” (11.6, 11.7). This final QMNI document was approved on the 13th of 2011 | Obtaining approval for the idea of an institute at USC: Vice-Chancellor and 5 President Professor Greg Hill September and gave as contacts for future development of the proposal Mr Maconachie, Mr Mendoza and Prof Bennett (11.9, 11.10). In order to move the QMNI idea along, the University approved the formation of a QMNI Steering Group, consisting of Mr Niemiec, Mr Mendoza, Jean McGreevy and myself (11.11). Figure 1 The Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Greg Hill, shown opening the main building of the Sunshine Coast Mind and Neuroscience - Thompson Institute in early 2018. Prof Hill made a commitment to establish an installation devoted to the amelioration of maladies of the brain and mind in 2011, and through many vicissitudes detailed here in this document, held firm until it was finally realised on this occasion. 6 Founding the Sunshine Coast Mind and Neuroscience - Thompson Institute Figure 2 Mr John Mendoza, Head of ConNetica, a commercial business on the Sunshine Coast for promoting mental health programs, and a former chair of the Mental Health Council of Australia. He frequently promoted and ran two-day symposia on different aspects of mental health at USC Sunshine Coast. It was at one of these, held in early 2011, that Professor Max Bennett AO was invited to speak on neurobiological aspects of mental illness. At this time Prof Bennett became aware, through Mr Mendoza, of the terrible demographics of the Sunshine Coast as regards mental health and suggested to him a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor and President to establish an institute like that in Sydney for which Prof Bennett had been the foundation director, called the Brain and Mind Research Institute. 2011 | Obtaining approval for the idea of an institute at USC: Vice-Chancellor and 7 President Professor Greg Hill Figure 3 Prof Bennett, speaking at the