为表示对已故的Bob Norman长官的怀念和感激，詹姆斯库克大学计划用恩人的名字命名凯恩斯校区的最新建筑。
根据大学委员会的决定，澳大利亚热带森林学院楼将以Sir Robert Norman Building命名，以纪念他为校区发展中所做的贡献。
“对于澳大利亚热带森林学院楼——即将成为世界领先热带研究中心来说，才能承担Sir Robert Norman Building的命名。”詹姆斯库克大学的校长Lt Gen John Grey说，“Bob长官和Norman女士都对詹姆斯库克大学进行了慷慨捐赠。”
“Bob长官投资了很多，增加了很多大学的设施，对凯恩斯校区的建立都是至关重要的。”
2003年时，Bob长官在大学的报纸上提到，“我们自己的女儿都去布里斯班上学了，很想给当地的学生这种机会，把我们的人才留在昆士兰的最北部。”
在1986年詹姆斯库克大学打算在凯恩斯成立校区建立技术与继续教育学院时，Norman家族和当地的活动人士就深信凯恩斯需要自己的大学，并有能力开设很广范围的课程。
“Bob长官相信，城市不能发展是因为缺乏知识和技能作为背景。” Lt Gen John Grey说，“他观察到，一旦年轻人去了布里斯班上学，许多人就留在那不回来了。他也希望凯恩斯的大学中能做一些有关热带森林的研究活动。”
自从詹姆斯库克大学正式宣布在凯恩斯成立校区建立技术与继续教育学院时，Bob长官和Norman女士一起捐赠了100,000澳元用于建立凯恩斯校区。
Norman家族后来又继续投资，总计250,000澳元，Bob长官成为凯恩斯校区细条委员会的主席，总投资近一百万澳元。
Bob长官去世于今年4月，现年93岁，与詹姆斯库克大学一直保持密切的关系。1994年，被授予名誉文字博士头衔，以感谢他对凯恩斯校区的发展运作和昆士兰北部社会发展的巨大贡献。
“他对广义的教育和热带研究尤其感兴趣。” Lt Gen John Grey说，“用他的名字命名澳洲热带森林学院再适合不过了。”
Sir Robert Norman Building预期在八月竣工，是詹姆斯库克大学，昆士兰州政府和CSIRO组织合作的成果。它将是不断发展的区域研究中心，是澳洲热带标本研究的归宿。
原文：
James Cook University plans to name its newest building in Cairns in honour of the late Sir Bob Norman OBE.
Following a decision by the University Council, the Australian Tropical Forest Institute Building will be named the Sir Robert Norman Building in recognition of his significant role in the development of the campus.
"It's appropriate that the Australian Tropical Forest Institute Building, which will be a world-leading centre for tropical research, should bear the name of Sir Bob Norman," said JCU's Chancellor, Lt Gen John Grey. "Sir Bob and Lady Norman were people of vision and great generosity."
Sir Bob's efforts in raising the funds, ensuring public awareness of the need for a university facility, and leading the committee of local citizens to find and acquire a suitable site were crucial to the Cairns campus being established, Lt Gen Grey said.
In 2003 Sir Bob told the University's newspaper that "Our own daughters had to go away to Brisbane to study, and we wanted to give students those opportunities locally&We wanted to keep our talented young people in the far north."
When it was announced in 1986 that JCU was to establish a campus at the Cairns College of Technical and Further Education, the Norman family and other local campaigners remained convinced that Cairns needed its own university, able to offer a wide range of courses.
"Sir Bob believed the city was suffering, because it lacked that grounding in knowledge and skills," Lt Gen Grey said. "He observed that once young people went to Brisbane for their studies, many of them stayed there. He also had a vision for a tropical forest institute to be part of the research activities of the university in Cairns."
At the formal announcement of the opening of the Cairns campus of JCU at TAFE, Sir Bob and Lady Norman presented a $100,000 donation towards the establishment of a University campus in Cairns.
The Norman family later increased their commitment to $250,000 and Sir Bob became the Chair of the Cairns Campus Co-ordinating Committee, which raised almost $1m to purchase the land on which JCU Cairns now stands.
Sir Bob, who passed away in April at the age of 93, maintained a close relationship with JCU. In 1994 he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Letters in recognition of his significant contribution to the development of the University's operations in Cairns and to the community of Far North Queensland.
"He was a passionate supporter of education in general and tropical research in particular," Lt Gen Grey said. "Naming the Australian Tropical Forest Building after him is a fitting tribute to a man of vision."
The Sir Robert Norman Building, due for completion in August, is a collaboration primarily between JCU, the State of Queensland, and the CSIRO. It will be a research centre for sustainable regional development and home to the Australian Tropical Herbarium.
