Blackmore donates $10 million
July 23, 2024
The Blackmore Family Foundation has donated $10 million to Southern Cross University to further develop research and education in the field of naturopathic medicine.
The donation was made at the request of the late Maurice Blackmore, father of Marcus Blackmore, who founded Blackmores, one of Australia’s best known vitamin and nutritional supplement brands.
“When my father died in 1977, he was saddened that naturopathic medicine was not recognised as a true profession,” Mr Blackmore said.
“But public perception is changing, and I think that’s the result of good research, good education and advocacy at all levels.”
This is the second major donation to Southern Cross from the Blackmore Family Foundation, the private charitable trust of Marcus Blackmore and his wife Caroline Furlong.
His first donation, in 2018, was also $10 million and helped establish the university’s National Center for Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM).
Since its inception in 2020, NCNM has developed six accredited degrees, taught 280 undergraduate and graduate students, and supervised 18 research degrees.
NCNM Foundation director, Professor John Wardle, said the Blackmore Foundation’s latest donation future-proofs the centre’s work.
“It’s clear that integrated care can bring significant benefits to the entire health care system,” Wardle said.
Furlong, co-director of the Blackmore Foundation, said he was proud of the results that had been achieved with that initial gift, and that “we are fortunate to be in a position to do something similar again, as these funds will be put to good use to help the center take its research and teaching to the next level.”
NCNM has one of the largest clinical trials units in regional Australia, conducting trials for many complex health conditions. JG
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