Posthumous honour for Bolaffi
ALLEN Bolaffi, a stalwart of the South Australian Jewish and wider community who passed away suddenly last year, has been honoured by Flinders University as a Companion of the University.
ALLEN Bolaffi, a stalwart of the South Australian Jewish and wider community who passed away suddenly last year, has been honoured by Flinders University as a Companion of the University.
Founder of the Australia–Israel Chamber of Commerce in Adelaide and president of the organisation for more than 20 years, Bolaffi was also a revered business leader and heavily involved in local government.
The honorary degree was presented to the Bolaffi family at a graduation ceremony last month in recognition of Bolaffi’s enthusiasm and commitment to Flinders University, to business and to the community of South Australia.
“The family was honoured with pride and sadness for our father to be posthumously awarded with a Companion of the University,” son Reuben Bolaffi told The AJN.
“Everyone that knew Allen knew his passion for South Australia, so this is a very fitting honour.”
Presenting the accolade, Flinders University Vice-Chancellor Michael Barber detailed Bolaffi’s contributions to the university and beyond.
“At Flinders University he was a member of the Audit Committee, where he made an invaluable contribution over 10 years, and more recently a member of the New Venture Institute Advisory Committee, where his commitment to the university and optimism for future development of entrepreneurs and in Australia’s economic growth was evident,” Barber said.
“He had an enduring passion for Judaism and Israel and was committed to promoting Jewish community life in Adelaide, demonstrated by his establishment of the Adelaide Jewish Museum and role as chair of that organisation, confirming his commitment to advancing and documenting the social, historical and cultural life of the community.”
Flinders University will also honour Bolaffi’s life with a memorial fund set to support both innovative business ideas and health research.
Barber said Bolaffi’s extraordinary range of business and community activities warranted distinctive recognition. “As well as his business, charity and community roles, Allen was an enthusiastic advocate and backer of entrepreneurial businesses and start-up companies, and in this role served on the advisory committee of the University’s New Venture Institute.
“A significant and dynamic figure in the life of the state and the university, Allen was especially committed to realising the possibilities of the future, and his family and the university believe the Memorial Fund is an effective way to sustain his vision.”
Bolaffi passed away on June 1 last year, aged 57, after contracting a mysterious illness during a trip overseas.
PHOEBE ROTH
From left: Michael Barber, Kate Bolaffi, Viv Bolaffi, Reuben Bolaffi, Amie Rochman, and Chancellor of Flinders University Stephen Gerlach.
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