On Friday 18^th November, Dr Ian Penn (ON 1970) walked through the gates of Newington College for the first time in over 45 years. It was an anonymous nomination for the 2016 Newington Medal (International) that motivated Ian’s reunion with the College.

The purpose of the Newington Medal is to recognise outstanding contributions, actions and achievements of Old Boys. It is the highest honour Newington can bestow on an Old Boy for 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.

Ian’s remarkable body of work and achievement in Medicine and the Arts have had a positive impact on the world’s population. His journey has indeed been outstanding.

During Ian’s visit to the College, I had the privilege of being allocated some time to sit down and share a conversation about the journey that led Ian to where he is today. We started our conversation at least an hour behind schedule, the reason being that Ian had toured the entire College and presented to two senior classes, even extending contact details to a student who was looking for guidance about studying Medicine in the future. Ian’s enthusiasm to share and his passion, generosity and genuine interest in others were evident even before our conversation began.

Ian was forthcoming about the fact that time had come between himself, his peers and the College: “life just got busy” Ian said. It was a group email sent by Enzo Smith (ON 1970), from which Ian could see the email addresses of 137 peers, that Ian was inspired to start reconnecting with his peers again. “It was really very out of the blue, I had a desire to get in touch and see what the stories of others looked like. Everyone has a story, everyone has highs and lows and that’s the reality of our stories – its human – its life. At the end of the day it’s your story, so there is no judgement, no right or wrong, because it’s your story and you matter” Ian reflected.

Ian’s story began as a member of an immigrant family living in Sydney’s Inner West, made up predominantly of tailors and Rabbis. Ian reminisced how his parents had led interrupted lives “Mum and Dad only went to Grade 6 at school. Mum survived the Holocaust, but I never knew what she wanted to be in life”.

Knowing they wanted more for their son, Ian was sent to Newington College on a scholarship in 1966. Ian admits he struggled at Newington in the beginning “I felt that I didn’t fit in. I came from a very different background and I really had to work hard to navigate the waters of this new environment that my parents wanted me to be in”. Thanks to the support of a couple of teachers, Ian found his stride mid-way through school.

Awarded a Commonwealth Secondary Scholarship in 1968, Ian was identified by his teachers as ‘having gifted qualities and a fine academic future’. He was a member of the Student Representative Council in 1968 and Fletcher/Metcalf House Vice-Captain in 1970. Ian also achieved success as a member of the Newington College 1st Debating Team and on the stage where he successfully played the role of Caliban in the ‘Tribal-Love-Hate Musical’, based on Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’, in his final year.

Post school Ian studied arts/law, political science and philosophy at the University of Sydney. During this period, Ian travelled to spend time working on a kibbutz, chasing the socialist ideal. The trajectory of Ian’s journey was significantly shifted by a gardener on the kibbutz, “I would ask him challenging questions like, what is the philosophy of time and he would reply with these wonderful insightful answers. Finally, I sat there thinking, I am studying this stuff and this gardener knows so much more than me”, Ian reflected. Feeling that philosophy may have been an unworthy cause if a gardener knew more, Ian returned to Sydney, to his father, with the intent to quit university and become a tailor. A resounding ‘no’ from Ian’s father meant Ian had to create a new plan. Ian knew he wanted to make a difference, to help people and with his exceptional grades the university allowed Ian to change his course of study to Internal Medicine and Cardiology. 

In only his second lecture in medicine, Ian attended a lecture in histology where the lecturer proceeded to read from the text book in a monologue tone for the entire lecture, “it was totally boring”, Ian grimaced, “so I felt obliged to let the lecturer know after the lecture”. This style and flair continued throughout university but didn’t stop Ian from becoming a Doctor. After graduation, Ian continued in Interventional Cardiology in Calgary, Alberta and subsequently in Phoenix, Arizona where he worked with Dr Richard Schatz, the pioneer of coronary artery stents. Ian spent over twenty years developing coronary stents, initiating and implementing a Canadian trials group that investigated their safety and efficacy in the early 1990’s. From 1992 to 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 cardiologist and artist, Ian completed his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver. Ian has been recognised for his work in the art world, having been 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.

As our conversation turned to art, Ian enthusiastically reached for his iPad and his visual diaries through which he proudly relived a small selection of his works, his ideas and moments that had captured his imagination. Inspired by Ian’s time working Ski Patrol in Vancouver, there were pieces that captured his fascination for people interacting with their natural environment. A piece titled the ‘Impossible Conversation’ spoke to his firm belief that beauty and empathy should be part of everyday. The colour, purity and beauty of the works Ian and his mother created together before her passing reflected the paramount importance and inspiration of family in Ian’s life.      

A self-confessed family man, Ian beams with pride at the reality that his greatest highlights in life are his wife, his four children and his extended family. “My wife and kids are everything, they keep me young” admits Ian. On the subject of proud moments, Ian reminisced over a trip he took to Japan with his mother after his father had died. They stayed in the motel where the movie, ‘Lost in Translation’ was filmed. During the stay Ian recalled overhearing his mother on the phone to her sister sharing her astonishment that there were more towels in the motel room than there were in David Jones!

According to Ian, he has led a lucky life, working part time from the age of 50 and retiring at 55. Based in Vancouver, Ian also has a home in Bondi to which he tries to return for a month or two each year, all going well. When asked how he achieves work life balance, Ian quickly replied, “be passionate about what you do at work. When you leave work, leave it and go home. When you get home be passionate about what you do at home”.

A cup of tea, a chocolate muffin and hours behind schedule I asked Ian one final question, to finish the sentence: “To me success is”. Ian replied, “Work success is using my experiences to facilitate other people’s stories and life success is being a mensch (a person of integrity and honour).”

Dr Ian Penn has brought great honour to himself, his family and Newington College. It is with much honour that Newington College awards the Newington Medal (International) 2016, to Dr Ian Penn (ON 1970).