Alumna cited for dedication to health and Christian education

Born on Avondale Road, Norene (Rippon) Clouten was an Avondale girl from the beginning. Attending Avondale School for both her primary and high school education, it was her father’s insistence that set her academic course. “My daughter takes science,” he informed the headmaster, having been told the girls could study only the arts. He won—Norene sat with the boys.

At 16, she received a Commonwealth Scholarship and took on the yearlong secretarial course at what was then the Australasian Missionary College, from which she graduated in 1957. The following year she enrolled in physiotherapy at The University of Sydney and after her graduation worked at the Sydney Sanitarium, which was to become Sydney Adventist Hospital.

During her career, Norene held positions in Sweden, Scotland and Ohio and Michigan, USA, where she completed postgraduate study. In 1985, she graduated with honours from Western Michigan University with a master’s degree in educational leadership. She received her doctorate in 1991. In addition to church and community roles, Norene held a leadership position in the Andrews University honours program and was president of interdisciplinary honours society Phi Kappa Phi.

Now in her retirement, Norene continues to enjoy travelling with her husband, Neville, and spending time with her grandchildren in the United States. One of her passion projects has been the building of a primary school for orphaned children in Rapogi, Kenya. And as for art, squeezing dabs of four colours onto china plates aboard cruise ships has been a great beginning for Neville’s watercolour workshops, but it has never led her to cross the line that defines science.

The Class of 1957 honours Dr Norene Clouten for her dedication to health and to Christian education.—Neville Clouten