Nicholas Andrew Saunders, (born 26 June 1946) is an Australian

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

who served as the

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 Newcastle from 2004 to 2011.

Early life

Saunders was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, and attended Newington College (1959–1962), before graduating in medicine from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

Medical and academic career

Saunders undertook his specialist physician training at Royal North Shore Hospital. In 1974 he spent two years as a Research Fellow at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

Medical Centre in Canada, followed by two years as assistant professor of medicine at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

. He was a foundation member of the University of Newcastle Faculty of Medicine in 1978 and Professor of Medicine from 1983. Saunders practiced as a specialist in respiratory and sleep medicine at the Royal Newcastle Hospital and then the John Hunter Hospital from 1990 until 1992, where he was also Chair of the Department of Medicine. From Newcastle he went on to become the Head of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Dean of the School of Medicine at

Flinders University Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

between 1993 and 1998. From 1998 to 2003 he was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at

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

, Victoria.

University leadership

Saunders commenced a five-year term as Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Newcastle in 2004, following his long-standing association with the university and the Hunter River district. During his time at Newcastle, Saunders cut more than 400 positions—one job in five—to deal with the university's financial woes.

Appointments

Saunders has served on the following boards and councils: * Chair –

National Health and Medical Research Council The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the main statutory authority of the Australian Government responsible for medical research. It was the eighth largest research funding body in the world in 2016, and NHMRC-funded res ...

* Member – Higher Education Council * Member – Prime Minister's Science Engineering and Innovation Council * Member – Australian Research Council * Member – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Council * Chair – Committee of Deans of Australian Medical Schools * Member – Newington College Council

Honours

On 1 January 2001, Saunders was awarded 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 ...

for "outstanding leadership in medicine and education as Dean of Medicine, Monash University". On 11 June 2012, he was named an

Officer 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 "distinguished service to medicine and to higher education through administration and clinical leadership roles, and as a significant contributor to national academic and professional organisations."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Nicholas 1946 births Living people Academics from Sydney Australian pulmonologists Academic staff of Flinders University Harvard Medical School faculty Sydney Medical School alumni People educated at Newington College Members of Newington College Council Officers of the Order of Australia Vice-chancellors of the University of Newcastle (Australia) Academic staff of Monash University