The University of the Sunshine Coast is seeking nominations from across the community for its annual Outstanding Alumni of the Year Awards.

The University would like to hear from the employers, parents, friends or colleagues of USC graduates who have made significant impacts in their fields of expertise since graduating.

Nominations will close on Thursday 30 June and nominees can be from any field of endeavour, with previous award winners ranging from those involved in community work, business and scientific research.

The three award categories are Outstanding Alumnus of the Year; Regional Achievement (for graduates making an impact on the Sunshine Coast); and Rising Star (for graduates aged 35 years or younger, or who graduated in the past five years).

USC Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill said the awards gave the community a chance to pay tribute to USC graduates who are achieving at a high level locally or further afield.

“I would urge members of the public to consider nominating a high-achieving USC graduate, so we can honour some of the outstanding contributions being made by our alumni,” he said.

Last year’s award winners were Police Chief Superintendent Debbie Platz (Master of Business Administration), environmental scientist Dr Chris Walker (Bachelor of Science) and business entrepreneur Bill Darby (Master of Business Administration).

USC’s Alumni Relations Officer Anita Edmonds said previously nominated alumni who were unsuccessful could be re-nominated, and self-nominations would be accepted.

“Nominators are not required to specify an award category, as the judging panel will determine the categories in which the nominees are most suited,” she said.

“The awards will be presented at the 2016 Outstanding Alumni Awards Ceremony at USC on Thursday 15 September. This event will be a great chance to celebrate the graduates with our community, supporters and fellow alumni.”

Nomination forms are available online at www.usc.edu.au/alumniawards or by contacting Anita Edmonds at alumni@usc.edu.au or (07) 5459 4564.

— Gen Kennedy