Australian of the Year - and ANU law dropout - named alumnus of year By Matthew Raggatt Former Army chief David Morrison.
He was a "chaotic and disorganised" student who dropped out of law school, but the former chief of Army David Morrison has been awarded an academic honour at his old uni. 
The man who spent 36 years of his life in the disciplined role of a soldier said he was "not a particularly diligent student" after he learnt he had been named the Australian National University's alumnus of the year, but his interest in literature and history had not dimmed since his years on campus in the 1970s. "The study of poetry has stayed with me all my life, I'm revisiting the later works of T.S. Elliot at the moment and that love of poetry was incubated at ANU," he said.
"I've described my university education as eclectic; everybody who knew me at the time described it as chaotic and disorganised.
The law school and I parted amicably but I think to ourmutual relief, at the end of three years."
The Australian of the Year, who served on duty in Bougainville and East Timor before his 2011 appointment to the head of Army, was honoured at the fourth annual ANU alumni awards on Saturday night for his commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion as well as his military career.
He credited his arts degree as teaching him to how to think, listen logically, debate and test ideas. The retired lieutenant- general, chairman of the national Diversity Council, gave the commencement address at the campus last month.
Other winners included China's Professor Yiping Huang, whose PhD in economics helped him forge a successful academic and corporate career which led to his recent appointment as an adviser on the Chinese equivalent of the Reserve Bank board.
Professor Yiping was named the 2016 international alumnus of the year for public policy.
Canberra barrister and law lecturer David Richards was named the philanthropy alumnus of the year for his record-breaking efforts installing Christmas lights for charity SIDS & Kids ACT, who he has helped raise $750,000.
Mr Richards, whose son Thomas died shortly after birth, went into the Guinness World Records in 2011 with more than 330,000 Christmas lights on his home. He reclaimed the record two years later and then made his way into the records again with Christmas lights in the CBD.
Further winners included champions of Silicon Valley and an Indigenous educator from far north Queensland.