Glyn Conrad Davis AC (born 25 July 1959) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

academic who is the

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, appointed by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...

on 30 May 2022, and commenced on 6 June 2022. Davis was previously a Distinguished Professor at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

Crawford School of Public Policy Crawford School of Public Policy is a research-intensive policy school within the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific at The Australian National University which focuses on Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The school was named after Sir ...

. From January 2005 until September 2018, he served as the

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

Personal life

Davis was educated at Marist Brothers College, Kogarah. He later studied political science at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

and the

where he completed a doctoral thesis on the political independence of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...

, before undertaking post-doctoral appointments as a

Harkness Fellow The Harkness Fellowship (previously known as the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship) is a program run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. This fellowship was established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships and enable Fellows from several coun ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...

in Washington DC and the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. Davis is married to Margaret Gardner, the Vice-Chancellor of

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

. When Davis was Vice-Chancellor of the

, he and his spouse were regularly referred to as "Melbourne's top academic couple".

Career

For nearly 14 years Davis served as Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the

and as Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Arts. He publishes on public policy. Davis began his academic career at

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian ...

. He commenced as a lecturer in public policy in 1985 and was appointed as a professor in 1998. He has combined an academic career with practical experience in government, serving as Commissioner for Public Sector Equity with the Public Sector Management Commission from 1990 to 1993, as Director-General of the Office of the Cabinet from 1995 to 1996 under Premier

Wayne Goss Wayne Keith Goss (26 February 1951 – 10 November 2014) was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996, becoming the first Labor Premier of the state in over thirty two years. Prior to entering politics, Goss was a solic ...

, and as Director-General of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet to the Premier of Queensland,

Peter Beattie Peter Douglas Beattie (born 18 November 1952) is an Australian former politician who served as the 36th Premier of Queensland, in office from 1998 to 2007. He was the state leader of the Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch), Labor Party ...

, from 1998 to 2002. Davis became Vice-Chancellor and President of

in 2002. In January 2005 he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne and has led the introduction of the university's "

Melbourne Curriculum The Melbourne Model is a standardised academic degree structure which was introduced at the University of Melbourne in 2008. The Melbourne Model is designed to align itself "''with the best of European and Asian practice and North American tr ...

" academic structure. In 2008, Davis co-chaired the Australia 2020 Summit and, in the same year, served as a member of the Innovation Taskforce, an expert group commissioned to review Australia's research and innovation systems. Internationally, Davis is an immediate past chair of

Universitas 21 Universitas 21 (U21) is an international network of research-intensive universities. Founded in Melbourne, Australia in 1997 with 11 members, it has grown to include twenty-eight member universities in nineteen countries and territories. The uni ...

, a grouping of 24 leading universities from around the globe, a member of the

Association of Pacific Rim Universities APRU (the Association of Pacific Rim Universities) is a consortium of 61 leading research universities in 19 economies of the Pacific Rim. Formed in 1997,

, a member of the Hong Kong Grants Commission until 31 December 2010 and a director of the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies at King's College London. Davis is the patron of Australia 21, a non-profit organisation developing research networks on key issues affecting Australia's future. He is a former president of the

Group of Eight The Group of Eight (G8) was an inter-governmental political forum from 1997 until 2014. It had formed from incorporating Russia into the Group of Seven, or G7, and returned to its previous name after Russia left in 2014. The forum originate ...

, a group representing a number of Australia's major research universities. Previously, he was the foundation chairman of the

Australia and New Zealand School of Government The Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) is an educational institution that teaches strategic management and high-level policy to public sector leaders. Formed in 2002 by a consortium of governments, universities and business ...

(ANZSOG), which is headquartered at the University of Melbourne. Davis was selected by the

to present the 51st

Boyer Lectures The Boyer Lectures are a series of talks by prominent Australians, presenting ideas on major social, scientific or cultural issues, and broadcast on ABC Radio National. The Boyer Lectures began in 1959 as the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commi ...

series, on-air from 14 November 2010, with the topic of "The Republic of Learning: higher education transforms Australia". In October 2018, Davis joined the

at the

as a distinguished professor. He is also a visiting professor at the Policy Institute, King's College London, visiting professor in the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford, and in 2018 was elected a visiting fellow at Exeter College Oxford. Davis is also an honorary professor of public policy at Manchester University. In December 2018, Davis became the CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation. In June 2022, Davis became the

of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Honours

Davis is a Fellow of the

Academy of Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Austr ...

and the

Institute of Public Administration Australia The Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) is a nonpartisan and apolitical member-based organisation which provides public sector thought leadership and works to strengthen the capacity of public servants through events, training and ...

, received the Centenary Medal "in recognition of contribution to public service" and, on 26 January 2002, became a Companion of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

for his "service to public administration, particularly as an advocate for

good governance Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for th ...

constitutional reform A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, ...

and the creation of infrastructure to enable the development of a "knowledge-based" nation, to tertiary education in the field of political science, and to the community." He holds honorary doctorates from Griffith University and the University of New South Wales. There are buildings named after him on the campus of Griffith University at Nathan, and the Melbourne School of Design at the University of Melbourne Parkville. In September 2018 Davis was awarded the lifetime achievement award in higher education by the ''Australian Financial Review''.

Publications

Davis has written widely on policy and governance. His most recent publications are: * ''On Life's Lottery'', Hachette, 2021. *''The Australian Idea of a University'', Melbourne University Publishing, 2017. * ''The Australian Policy Handbook'' (6th edition with Peter Bridgman and Catherine Althaus), Routledge, 2017. * ''The Future of Australian Governance'' (co-editor with Michael Keating), St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2000. * ''Are You Being Served? State, Citizens and Governance'' (co-editor with Patrick Weller), Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2001. * ''The Republic of Learning: higher education transforms Australia'',

(

), 2010. * 'Universities in the Service of the Nation' in ''Melbourne University Law Review'' (2015) Volume 38(3) special issue in memory of Sir Zelman Cowenbr>Current Issue

References

External links

University of Melbourne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Glyn 1959 births Living people Vice-Chancellors of the University of Melbourne People from Sydney Australian National University alumni University of New South Wales alumni Companions of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Harkness Fellows