The Newington Medal recognises outstanding contributions, actions and achievements of Old Boys who have made a significant difference to the welfare and future of the College and to the quality of life of Australians or to humanity in countries around the world. The medal acknowledges an Old Boy (both Australian and international residents) whose work, profession, skill, dedication, generosity and/or support has involved meritorious and commendable achievement in business, the professions, community service, industrial development, technology, human relations, education, cultural development, sport, international relations, the arts or philanthropy.

Dr Ian Penn (ON 1970), Dr David Mulford (Headmaster), Mr Ian Webster (ON 1970)

NEWINGTON MEDAL (AUSTRALIA) 2016 – MR IAN WEBSTER (ON 1970)

Ian Webster was a student at Newington College from 1963 to 1970. He is one of many of the greater Webster Family to have attended Newington over many decades.
Ian was a Prefect and achieved good results in the 1970 HSC, being awarded a Commonwealth University Scholarship. During his time at the College he was a keen sportsman, but enjoyed and excelled in the Cadet Unit. By 1969 he was appointed a Cadet Unit Officer (CUO), commanding 2 Platoon in A Company, and in his final year Ian was appointed Senior CUO, the student post with the highest responsibilities.
Since leaving Newington College, Ian has been a leader in the Australian publishing world. Universal Publishing for many years produced the annual Gregory’s Street Directory and following sale of the business in 2009, Ian was appointed Managing Director, a position he held until 2012.
Ian has also run a very successful family business, Sally Milner Publishing, for many years as well as the family’s rural property at Binda in southern NSW.
Ian’s service to Newington over the years has been immeasurable. He has been a member of the ONU Council or a Country Vice President for most of his adult life and served as President of the Old Newingtonians’ Union from 1993 to 1994. In 2002 he was elected as an ONU Member of the College Council and served with distinction in that role for over a decade.
Ian is also an enthusiastic supporter of the College’s philanthropic endeavours. He was the founding Chairman of the ONU Centennial Trust, nurturing it in the early days and helping it grow into the respected foundation it is today some 20 years later. Ian is also a founding member of the Founders Society, the College’s Bequest Program.
Ian was the inaugural Chairman of the College’s Sesquicentenary Committee and was responsible for setting the Committee on a path that led to the successful Sesquicentenary celebrations for the College in 2013. Ian also provided, at no cost to the College, the editing and publishing resources for the Sesquicentenary History Book published that year.
Ian’s connections with Newington took on a further dimension when his sons Alexander (ON 2003) and Thomas (ON 2007) attended the College. No doubt, we will see more generations of Webster’s at Newington in the years to come.
Ian’s leadership in the publishing industry and his lifetime support of the Newington community as an Old Boy provide an inspirational example of achievement for past and present students of the College. It is an honour to name Ian Webster as the Newington Medallist (Australia) for 2016.

NEWINGTON MEDAL (INTERNATIONAL) 2016 – DR IAN PENN (ON 1970)

Ian Penn was a student at Newington College from 1966 to 1970. He was a member of the Student Representative Council in 1968 and the Fletcher/Metcalfe House Vice Captain in 1970. Awarded a Commonwealth Secondary Scholarship in 1968, Ian was identified by his teachers as, “Having gifted qualities and a fine academic future.” Ian also achieved success as a member of the College’s 1st Debating team and on the stage where he played the role of Caliban in the Tribal-Love-Hate Musical, based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, in his final year.
Ian went on to train in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at The University of Sydney, then in Interventional Cardiology in Calgary, Alberta and subsequently in Phoenix, Arizona where he worked with Dr Richard Schatz, the pioneer of coronary artery stents.

Dr Ian Penn spent over 20 years developing coronary stents, initiating and implementing a Canadian trials group that investigated their safety and efficacy in the early 1990s. From 1992–2000 he was Director of Interventional Cardiology at Vancouver General Hospital and is a co-founder of Evasc, an endovascular medical device company.
Often referred to as a cardiologist and an artist, Ian Penn completed his Bachelor of Arts Degree at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver to accompany his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. He has also studied Philosophy and Political Science. Ian Penn is the son of Holocaust survivor parents and it is this family history that has strongly influenced his art. His first solo exhibition was held in 2011 at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre where he explored the second generation’s relationship to the Holocaust through a number of media.
Ian has been recognised for his work in the art world and was awarded the Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver Emerging Artist’s Award upon graduation from Emily Carr. He has published over 120 abstracts and articles and has an active art practice.
Through his remarkable body of work, both in medicine and art and the impact that both have had on the world’s population, Dr Ian Penn has brought great accolades to himself, his family and Newington College. It is with much honour that the College awards the Newington Medal
(International) 2016, to Dr Ian Penn.

Nominations for the 2017 Newington Medal close 31 August 2017. Please click here for more information and to download the application form: 

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE – DR IAN PENN (ON 1970)

Dr Penn is not only our current Newington Medal (International) winner, he is also the College’s Artist in Residence at Concordia.  Dr Penn has been working with the senior visual arts students, sharing his love of art and encouraging them to take risks with their work.