The official weigh-in took place on Friday 31 July 2009.

In July 2009, Professor Nicholas Glasgow accepted a sponsored weight-loss challenge to raise funds for Reconciliation Scholarships from Prof. Keith Houghton, who himself raised $200k for this cause in the previous year.

The problem

Unacceptable gaps in educational outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians were identified by The Australian National University, which subsequently launched its Reconciliation Action Plan. One strategy within the plan is to attract and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to undertake higher degrees by research at ANU. A Reconciliation Scholarship Fund was set up to do this, but was lacking funds.

The solution

Professor Houghton raised nearly $200,000 in a similar weight-loss program, which so far has enabled two Reconciliation Scholarships to be awarded.

The first recipient was Mr Peter Radoll, a PhD candidate at the ANU College of Business and Economics. Sharon Bonython–Ericson was the second recipient and her enrolment is through the ANU Medical School. She has since won a Fulbright Scholarship to undertake part of her PhD research in the USA.

Professor Glasgow, Dean of ANU Medical School, was hoping to use his sponsored weight-loss program to raise more funds, so that further Reconciliation Scholarships could be awarded. He hoped to raise $100,000 for this very worthy cause by gaining pledges from students, professionals and organisations for achieving his goal. As a GP, he is able to determine his body mass index and calculated that he needed to lose at least 7 kg. His aim was to achieve this goal by 31st October 2009.

He got off to an excellent start, receiving two pledges - one for $10,000 dollars if the goal is reached, and one for $1,000 per kg lost to a maximum of $7,000.

A slim looking Professor Glasgow on the scales at the final weigh-in next to Professor Houghton.

The final weigh-in

The final weigh-in took place in Professor Houghton's office. The result was that Professor Glasgow had lost 9.7 kg since the start of the Reconciliation Scholarship Challenge, which is 2.7 kg more than his original goal. The total amount pledged by the deadlline was $30,830 - however donations are still arriving, see the barometer opposite for the latest total.

You can still donate

Although the challenge is over, donations can still be made for Professor Glasgow's Reconciliation Scholarship Challenge by using one of the following methods:

• Complete an online donation form.
• Download a pdf donation form, which can be filled out and either faxed or mailed to the Endowment for Excellence.
• To deposit money directly into the Endowment for Excellence bank account, please email endowment@anu.edu.au or phone +61 2 6125 7814 for further details.

Another way you may consider continuing your support for the Reconciliation Indigenous Scholarships is through Workplace Giving or asking your employer if they match charitable giving.