Glyn Conrad Davis is an Australian academic and public servant. He served as the

Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet from 6 June 2022 to 16 June 2025. From January 2005 until September 2018, he served as

vice-chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

. He was previously a Distinguished Professor at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

's Crawford School of Public Policy.

Early life and education

Glyn Conrad Davis was educated at Marist Brothers College, Kogarah. He later studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

and the Australian National University, where he completed a

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

on the political independence of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

, before undertaking post-doctoral appointments as a Harkness Fellow at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

in Washington DC, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

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 university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...

. He commenced as a lecturer in public policy in 1985 and was appointed as a professor in 1998.

Political appointments

Davis served simultaneously as an academic while appointed to various roles in government. He served as Commissioner for Public Sector Equity with the Public Sector Management Commission from 1990 to 1993, and as Director-General of the Office of the Cabinet from 1995 to 1996 under Queensland Premier Wayne Goss. He also served as Director-General of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet to Peter Beattie, from 1998 to 2002.

Vice-chancellorships

Davis became vice-chancellor and president of

in 2002. In January 2005 he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne and led the introduction of the university's " Melbourne Curriculum" academic structure. While at the University of Melbourne he was paid a salary of $1.6m AUD annually.

Secretary of Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

In June 2022, Davis became the

of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. He was appointed by Prime Minister

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 the Leaders of the Australian Labor Party#Leader, leader of the Labor Party si ...

on 30 May 2022, and commenced on 6 June 2022. In 2025, it was revealed he would resign from his position, effective from 16 June.

Other activities and roles

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. In 2010 Davis presented the ABC's 51st Boyer Lectures series, speaking on higher education in Australia. In December 2018, Davis became the CEO of the Paul Ramsay Foundation. On 18 February 2021, he delivered the inaugural Hugh Stretton Oration at the University of Adelaide.

Academia

In October 2018, Davis joined the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University as a distinguished professor. He is also a visiting professor at the Policy Institute at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, visiting professor in the

Blavatnik School of Government The Blavatnik School of Government is the school of public policy of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The School was founded in 2010 following a £75 million donation from business magnate Len Blavatnik, supported by £26 million fro ...

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. His career memberships include: the 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-nine member universities in nineteen countries and territories. The uni ...

, the

Association of Pacific Rim Universities The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) is a consortium of 62 universities in 18 economies of the Pacific Rim. Formed in 1997,

steering committee, the Hong Kong Grants Commission, and a director of the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies at King's College London.

Other roles

He is a patron of Australia 21,A non-profit organisation developing research networks on key issues affecting Australia's future. former president of the Group of Eight, and founding chairman of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.

Honours

Davis is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and the Institute of Public Administration Australia. He received the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

"in recognition of contribution to public service". On 26 January 2002, Davis was appointed a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

for his "service to public administration, particularly as an advocate for good governance, constitutional reform 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 doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s 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.

Personal life

Davis is married to Margaret Gardner, the 30th Governor of Victoria and former Vice-Chancellor of Monash University and RMIT. When Davis was Vice-Chancellor of the

, he and his spouse were described by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' as "Melbourne's top academic couple".
The thinking Australian's Posh and Becks
' (David Cohen),

– 10 January 2006

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'',

( Boyer Lectures), 2010. * 'Universities in the Service of the Nation' in ''Melbourne University Law Review'' (2015) Volume 38(3) special issue in memory of

Sir Zelman Cowen Sir Zelman Cowen, (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Australian legal scholar and university administrator who served as the 19th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1977 to 1982. Cowen was born in Melbourne, and attended ...

Footnotes

References

External links

*, at the Wheeler Centre {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Glyn Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Vice-chancellors of the University of Melbourne Australian National University alumni University of New South Wales alumni Companions of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Harkness Fellows People educated at Marist College Kogarah