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For more than 40 years, Graham Lancaster AM has helped shape the Illawarra through quiet leadership, tireless service and a belief in lifting others. At Graduation Week 2025, the ¾«¶«´«Ã½ of ¾«¶«´«Ã½ (UOW) recognised his exceptional contribution by admitting the respected solicitor as a Fellow of the ¾«¶«´«Ã½, an honour made all the more poignant by the personal challenge he now faces.

Just 12 months ago, Graham was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a terminal condition that typically claims lives within two to five years. He has met this diagnosis with determination, resilience and a continued commitment to helping others, including supporting research that may one day lead to a cure.

“The internet says it is incurable and universally fatal,” Graham told graduating students in his occasional address following the fellowship ceremony.

Reflecting on his mindset in facing the illness, he turned to Rudyard Kipling’s poem If–, paraphrasing its message of quiet strength and self-belief:

“However, because I was educated and have never given up learning, particularly given my occupation, I have been able to keep my head and trust myself when others have doubted. I have made allowance for their doubting too.”

Graham Lancaster addresses graduating students from the Faculty of Business and Law after being made a Fellow of the ¾«¶«´«Ã½. Photo: Michael Gray

Built on service

Graham's story began in Liverpool, England, where he was born before immigrating to Australia at age four with his parents, who were seeking better opportunities for their three sons. They each made the most of those opportunities, with all three excelling in their chosen fields.

Graham began his legal career in 1984 as a law clerk, was admitted to the Law Society of New South Wales in 1990, and later graduated from UOW with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1999. He built a respected legal practice specialising in commercial litigation and insolvency and in 2022 was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his significant service to the law and to the Illawarra.

Yet Graham’s most enduring impact arguably lies in his commitment to developing leadership in others. As a founding member and director of the Leadership Development Forum and president of The Illawarra Connection since 2017, he has helped shape the Leadership Illawarra Program – empowering more than 100 emerging leaders.

“I believe in reciprocity. I believe in treating others how you would like to be treated – the golden rule,” he told graduating students.

“How many of you had a teacher, a lecturer, or a mentor who went above and beyond – someone who showed passion, not just for the subject, but for the fact that they were conveying learning to you, conveying their legacy?

“I’ll bet that you probably performed better in those subjects, because you sensed a need to give as much to that person and the experience as you were receiving from it.”

Giving without limits

Graham's dedication to the Illawarra spans decades and touches countless lives. From judging school-based mock trials to serving seven years on the Board of the Illawarra Basketball Association, from helping establish the Top Blokes Foundation to joining the Board of Barstool Brothers (now Raising the Bar Foundation), his fingerprints are on many of the region's most impactful initiatives.

His compassion drives a remarkable personal commitment to charitable causes. He has completed the CEO Sleepout eight times, helped establish two charities and provided pro bono legal support to numerous foundations across the Illawarra.

By his own admission, Graham has two key flaws: “If I see or know of somebody in trouble, or something that isn't right, I want to help. The other is I find it difficult to say no.”

Bill Gole MND Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Luke McAlary gives Graham and his wife Catherine an update on MND research at UOW. Photo: Britt James

A UOW legacy

That same drive to serve has been a defining part of Graham’s relationship with UOW. What began with a Bachelor of Commerce in the 1990s has grown into a family legacy. His wife Catherine studied and worked at UOW for more than 30 years, while both of their children also studied there. Graham has continued to give back to the ¾«¶«´«Ã½, providing mentorship through the Community Reference Group and sponsoring the Lancaster Law and Mediation Prize.

Since his diagnosis, he has – in typical fashion – thrown himself into learning about the disease, reaching out to UOW scientists to gain their insights and helping raise funds to support their research.

Ahead of the fellowship ceremony, Graham and Catherine visited the Molecular Horizons research facility and met with researchers who are continuing the work of the late Professor Justin Yerbury, renowned for his dedication to finding a cure for MND. and gave Graham and Catherine a tour of their laboratories and updated them on their research and promising new lines of investigation.

The Lancasters also met with cellular neuroscientist , group leader of the Neurodevelopment and Neurodegeneration Lab, who provided an update on MND research her team is conducting.

Fighting forward

Graham's response to his diagnosis exemplifies the resilience and positivity that have defined his life. Rather than retreating, he has thrown himself into research, supplements, complementary therapies, and optimism.

“My education ... has afforded me the opportunity to take these many steps to resist the progression of my disease,” he told the graduating students. “Whether the doctors' credit that or not, I have slowed its progression and expect to be here for many years to come.”

Characteristically, his message to the next generation is focused on service and perseverance: “Be a lifelong learner. Give as you would expect to receive. Reciprocity is real. Be of service – it feels good and it makes the world good. Back yourself. Never let the world or circumstance get you down. Stay positive.”

As Professor Trish Mundy noted in her citation speech, Graham has “created a legacy of leadership and integrity that will inspire others for generations to come”. His story shows how commitment to both profession and community can create real, lasting change – one relationship at a time.

Even now, facing an enormous personal challenge, Graham continues to embody the principle he shared with graduating students:

“We all have limited time in this world and with a nod to Kipling again, you should fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run and the world will be yours.”

For Graham, every minute still counts – not just for himself, but for the countless lives he continues to touch and for the research that may one day give hope to others. His UOW fellowship honours a legacy already made and a commitment that continues, even now, to light the way for others.

Molecular Horizons researchers Dr Luke McAlary, Dr Jeremy Lum and Professor Lezanne Ooi with Catherine and Graham Lancaster. Photo: Britt James