Raymond Leslie Martin (3 February 1926 – 25 February 2020) was an Australian chemistry professor and university administrator. He was Vice-Chancellor of

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 ...

from 1977 to 1987.Martin, Raymond Leslie (1926 – )
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Early life

Martin grew up in Melbourne where he attended

Scotch College Melbourne Scotch College is a private school, private, Presbyterian Day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, Victoria, Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Austral ...

from grade 6 until attaining his

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certificate ...

. His father had to move suddenly to Sydney for work reasons, and whilst in Sydney Martin attended North Sydney Boys' High School for a year before returning to Melbourne for his tertiary education. His tertiary education was at 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 ...

and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He was an outstanding student, receiving numerous prizes and scholarships. He gained two doctorates from Cambridge and one doctorate from 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 ...

, all in chemistry.

Professional career

In the 1950s, Martin was appointed lecturer 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 ...

, before being appointed professor of chemistry at Melbourne University at just 36 years of age. During this time, he worked in private industry, and was also a visiting scholar at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. In 1972, he moved to ANU, where he was Dean of the Research School of Chemistry. In 1984 Martin was elected chairman of the International Atomic Weights Commission where he served until 1987. In 1977, Martin was appointed the third Vice-Chancellor of

. The position was originally intended to go to a British academic, Lord John Vaizey. However, negotiations between Vaizey and the University broke down after Vaizey's demands became increasingly outlandish. As a result, the position went to Martin, after founding Dean of Arts Bill Scott filled the vacancy for a year. His leadership at Monash consolidated the extraordinary growth achieved by the University. In a sense, his vice-chancellorship was much quieter than the pioneering of

Louis Matheson Sir James Adam Louis Matheson KBE CMG (11 February 191227 March 2002) was a British engineer and university administrator, who served as the first Vice-Chancellor of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Early life Born in Huddersfield ...

or the massive expansion of

Mal Logan Malcolm Ian Logan (3 June 1931 – 17 September 2022) was an Australian geographer and university administrator. He was Vice-Chancellor of Monash University from 1987 to 1996. Logan grew up in country New South Wales, attending secondary schoo ...

. This was partly because funding for Australian universities slowed during his tenure, while no major educational reforms were made by Australian governments. When he stepped down from the lead role at Monash, he worked as a professor of chemistry at the University, before moving to Canberra to work in the Prime Minister's Department as Chair of the Australian Science and Technology Council.Martin, Raymond Leslie
Bright Sparcs Biographical entry

References

{{Chairmen of the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights 1926 births 2020 deaths Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni Academic staff of Monash University Academic staff of the University of New South Wales Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Australian National University alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Officers of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering People educated at North Sydney Boys High School