Rabbi John D Cooper has been an active supporter of the University from its very beginning. In 1986, it was John and his mother, Frayda Myers Cooper, who initiated the first University of the Third Age (U3A) on the Sunshine Coast and then throughout Queensland and Northern New South Wales. U3A Sunshine Coast was one of the key advocates for the establishment of a University on the Sunshine Coast of which John was a foundation management committee member and tutor. John has received an Honorary Doctorate from the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. He is an active member of the local Jewish community and provides assistance to Jewish communities throughout Queensland. It is testament to his humane outlook that John was a Foundation member of the Sunshine Coast Interfaith Network. John has the gift of showing unfeigned interest in the enthusiasms and knowledge of others and has delivered numerous addresses on Jewish perspectives. John was co-initiator and is an enthusiastic supporter of Buderim Community Foundation and was a member of the Council for the Encouragement of Philanthropy in Australia.