Next Vice-Chancellor appointed

Edward O'Daly

Professor Parker will take up the post on 1 March next year

24 October 2006: A new Vice-Chancellor has been appointed to take over from Professor Roger Dean next March.

The Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Monash University Professor Stephen Parker will take on the role, when Professor Dean returns to full-time research.

A musician, cyclist and father-of-three, Professor Parker’s academic background is in law. He has practised as a solicitor in the UK, lectured in the subject at University College Cardiff, the Australian National University, Griffith University and Monash, and is a respected and influential legal researcher.

As a university leader, Professor Parker has a reputation as a strategic thinker and is credited with “reconnecting” the Monash law school with the legal profession.

His current role at Monash encompasses the university’s educational coursework programs, academic staffing, industrial relations, the student experience and the library. He is also responsible for strategic planning and quality assurance.

Professor Parker is an active participant in university life and ensures he doesn’t lose touch with the student experience at Monash through a ‘student for the day’ program, which regularly sees him immersed in student life for a typical day.

“I throw myself into the collegial life of universities,” he said.

“I am the patron of the University’s cycling team, which involves the completion of a 210km ride in October each year. I play in a campus R&B band, and sometimes perform with my daughters, who are all singers, at university functions.”

Professor Parker said he was excited about the opportunities for the University of Canberra in Australia’s national capital, and would be working with the University to realise them.

“The ACT is a growing and increasingly diverse region, and it will be a privilege to continue building the University of Canberra as a high quality teaching and research institution serving its many communities and adapting to their needs,” he said.

“If we can ensure that high quality educational programs are delivered by research-active scholars who are well connected with the world around them, the future is very bright for the University.

“I look forward to returning to live in the ACT, where I spent six happy years, and playing a part in civic life there.”

Chancellor Professor Ingrid Moses said she was delighted that Professor Parker had accepted the role.

“Professor Parker is a highly distinguished academic, an outstanding university leader and has a challenging and persuasive vision for the University of Canberra,” Professor Moses said.