University executive

Professor Carolyn Evans

BALLB ( Hons ) (Melb), DPhil (Oxon) FASSA

Vice Chancellor and President

Professor Carolyn Evans commenced her appointment as Vice Chancellor and President of Griffith University in February 2019, leading one of Australia’s fastest-growing and most progressive tertiary institutions, ranked in the top 2% of universities worldwide. In 2019, Carolyn was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and became a member of the organisation, Chief Executive Women. She is President of the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association, and was Chair of the Innovative Research Universities from 2021-2022, former board member of Open Universities Australia from 2019-2023, and current Board member of Universities Australia and the Australian-American Fulbright Commission and Chair of the State Advisory Board for the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.

Prior to joining Griffith, Professor Evans was Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Graduate and International) and Deputy Provost (2017-2018) at the University of Melbourne, and Dean and Harrison Moore Professor of Law, University of Melbourne Law School (2011-2017).  Professor Evans has degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Melbourne and a doctorate from Oxford University, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar and held a stipendiary lectureship for two years.  In 2010, Carolyn was awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholarship to allow her to travel as a Visiting Fellow to American and Emory Universities to examine questions of comparative religious freedom.  She has also taught in the human rights summer school at European University Institute.

Throughout her career, Carolyn has promoted the importance of universities combining excellence in teaching and research with a commitment to social justice and inclusion.

Carolyn is the author of Legal Protection of Religious Freedom in Australia (Federation Press 2012), Religious Freedom under the European Court of Human Rights (OUP 2001) and co-author of Australian Bills of Rights: The Law of the Victorian Charter and the ACT Human Rights Act (LexisNexis 2008) and Open Minds: Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech in Australia (Black Inc. 2021). She is co-editor of Religion and International Law (1999, Kluwer); Mixed Blessings: Laws, Religions and Women's Rights in the Asia-Pacific Region (2006 Martinus Nijhoff) and Law and Religion in Historical and Theoretical Perspective (CUP 2008). She is an internationally recognised expert on religious freedom and the relationship between law and religion and has spoken on these topics in the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, China, Greece, Vietnam, India, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Malaysia, Nepal and Australia. Her teaching was in the areas of public law, including Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and human rights.

Professor Liz Burd

B Ed , PG Cert , M Sc , PhD , DPhil , FHEA

Provost

Professor Liz Burd was appointed as Provost in 2022. Professor Burd joined Griffith's leadership team in 2021 as Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education). She previously served as Pro Vice Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) at the University of Newcastle (Australia). Prior to her arrival in Australia she was Dean of Undergraduate Education at Durham University ( UK ). While in Durham she led a 20 strong Technology Enhanced Learning research group and was director of the UK 's Centre for Excellence: Active Learning in Computing.

Professor Burd holds a bachelor degree in Education and a masters and doctoral degree in Computer Science.

Professor Burd has served on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Education Board for five years, on the IEEE Board of Governors of the Computer Society for five years and has been a Director for the IEEE Board for the last two years. As a software engineer, her research has led to many industry collaborations including IBM, Microsoft, British Telecommunication, BAe, and Logica. She has received over $15 million to support her research. She has published over 60 articles on software engineering and 30 on computing education. Liz has also received many awards, including the IEEE-CS Computer Science and Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2008, and a UK National Teaching Fellowship in 2009.

Professor Shaun Ewen

B App Sc (Physio) , M Int St , D Ed

Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education)

Professor Shaun Ewen commenced his appointment at Griffith as Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education) in January 2022.

Prior to joining Griffith, Professor Ewen was Pro Vice-Chancellor (Place and Indigenous) (2017-2022) and Foundation Director of the Melbourne Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, (2015-2022) at the University of Melbourne. In 2020 Professor Ewen was visiting Professor of Indigenous Health and Leadership in the School of Global Affairs, King’s College London.

Shaun has degrees in Applied Science (Physiotherapy) and International Studies from the University of South Australia, and a Doctorate of Education from Melbourne University.

Shaun’s research interests are in Indigenous health workforce development, and health professional education. He has provided the academic and Indigenous leadership for the Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education (LIME) project, a bi-national project bringing together all medical schools across Australia and New Zealand.

Shaun is a Board Member of Queensland Museum Network, Director of the Australian Medical Council (and Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee), and Board Member of the Menzies Australia Institute, King’s College London, and Member of the Australasian Strategic Advisory Board (ASAB) for Advance HE.

Shaun is passionate about the importance of diversity and inclusion as a precondition for excellence in higher education.

Professor Lee Smith

B Sc ( Hons ) , PhD , FRSB , FRSN

Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research)

Professor Lee Smith was appointed as Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) in 2022.

Prior to joining Griffith’s leadership team, Professor Smith served for five years as the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Science, and from 2020, the College of Engineering Science and Environment, at the University of Newcastle (Australia). Prior to his arrival in Australia, Professor Smith led a world-leading research team as Professor of Genetic Endocrinology at the University of Edinburgh ( UK ).

Professor Smith holds a PhD in molecular genetics. His research interests focus upon the genetics and endocrinology underpinning male health and he is recognised as an international award-winning expert in Androgen biology. Professor Smith has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and received over $25 million in research funding support from national and international funding agencies (NHMRC, MRC, BBSRC) and has extensive international collaborations. In 2018 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales in recognition of his contribution to science.

Professor Cindy Shannon AM

BA (Economics and History), Grad Dip Ed , MBA , DrSocSc (Pol Sci), FAICD , FQAAS , (FQA)

Deputy Vice Chancellor (Indigenous, Diversity and Inclusion)

Professor Cindy Shannon is a descendent of the Ngugi people from Moreton Bay. She is an Emeritus Professor with the University of Queensland and was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement) at the University of Queensland from 2011-2017 and Director of its Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. Prior to that she led the development and implementation of Australia’s first degree level program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers. Cindy has led major reforms in Indigenous health and played a key role is supporting the establishment of the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health in supporting South-East Queensland.

Professor Shannon has contributed to Indigenous health and education policy in Queensland and nationally. She served on the Council of NHMRC from 2005-12 and is currently the Chair of the Queensland Ministerial Advisory Committee on Sexual Health, Co-Patron of the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation and sits on a number of not-for profit boards, including as a Board Member to the Gold Coast Health and Hospital Board.

In 2017, Professor Shannon was recognised as a Queensland Great for contributions to Indigenous Health and Education and in 2020 was made a Member of the Order of Australia (in general division) for contributions to Medical Education and Indigenous Health. Professor Shannon was awarded the AMA Queensland Excellence in Health Care medal in 2022.

Mr Peter Bryant

BCom

Chief Operating Officer

Peter Bryant commenced in the role of Chief Operating Officer in November 2017 after serving almost four years as the Chief Financial Officer at Griffith University. Prior to 2014 Peter held senior finance and executive roles at Billabong International Limited and Australian Music Group.

Professor Bronwyn Harch

B Sc ( Griffith, Hons ), GradDipTeach ( QUT ), PhD ), ( UQ ), FTSE , FQA

Vice President (Industry and External Engagement)

Professor Bronwyn Harch joined the University as Vice President (Industry and External Engagement) in October 2023. Bronwyn is the former Interim Queensland Chief Scientist, and previously Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice-President (Research and Innovation), at The University of Queensland. Bronwyn is a renowned leader in research, innovation and partnership strategy with a passion for brokering (transdisciplinary) collaboration through private-public alliances. She has deep experience and an international reputation in Data Science, Environmental Informatics & Digital Agriculture.

Professor Harch has served on multiple boards and advisory committees, including the Federal Government Future Drought Fund Consultative Committee, Federal Government Industry Innovation and Science Australia, AgResearch New Zealand, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation Science Advisory Committee, the Federal Government Co-operative Research Centre Advisory Committee, the Queensland Government Innovation Advisory Council, the Queensland Museum Network and Australian Pork Limited.

Bronwyn is driven to make an impact by generating & disseminating knowledge, technology & practices that make our world more sustainable, secure & resilient.

Mr Phillip Stork

BA , GradCert (Creative Advertising)

Vice President (Marketing and Communication)

Phillip commenced as Vice President (Marketing and Communication) in 2021 after joining Griffith to lead the Office of Marketing and Communications in 2017. Prior to Griffith he held senior marketing and communications leadership roles in the Queensland Government.

Phillip's marketing and communications work for the Queensland Government received multiple accolades including Australian Marketing Institute and Public Relations Institute of Australia awards.

Phillip is a proud Griffith Bachelor of Arts in Applied Theatre alumnus with a Graduate Certificate in Creative Advertising from QUT.

Organisational unit reporting to the Vice President (Marketing and Communication)

• Marketing and Communications

Professor Scott Harrison

PhD , MHEd , MMus , GradDipMus , BMus , LMUSA , LTCL

Pro Vice Chancellor (Arts, Education and Law)

Professor Scott Harrison is Pro Vice Chancellor of the Arts, Education and Law Group and South Bank Provost, Griffith University. Scott is a graduate of Queensland Conservatorium and the University of Queensland and he has experience in teaching music in primary, secondary and tertiary environments. Performance interests and experience include opera and music theatre as both singer and musical director.

His teaching areas focus on pedagogy, research design and gender. His major research areas are music and well being, vocal education, music teacher education and masculinities, and music and he has been awarded grants in the areas of pedagogy, music and health and employability.

He has published extensively in these fields and is author or editor of Masculinities and Music (2008), Male Voices: Stories of Boys Learning through Making Music (2009), Perspectives on Teaching Singing (2010), Perspectives on Males and Singing (2012) and Teaching Singing in the 21st Century (2014). His latest book on musical theatre education and training will be published by Routledge in 2020.

Scott is past President of the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing. In 2010 he won a national award for Learning and Teaching and in 2012 he became a National Learning and Teaching Fellow.

Professor Caitlin Byrne

PhD , LLB

Pro Vice Chancellor (Business)

Professor Caitlin Byrne commenced in the role of Pro Vice Chancellor (Business) in July 2022 after serving five years as the Director of the Griffith Asia Institute.

As Pro Vice Chancellor (Business), Griffith University, Caitlin is committed to the delivery of contemporary business education and scholarship that delivers a more sustainable, inclusive and prosperous future for communities across the globe. Having spent the past five years leading the University's research and engagement agenda related to strategic developments in Asia and the Pacific as Director of the Griffith Asia Institute, she brings a global leadership outlook, strengths in building multi-stakeholder partnerships, and a commitment to diversity.

Caitlin began her professional career as a diplomat with the Australian Government. In the years since she has worked across senior leadership roles in government, industry and community to become recognised as one of Australia's leading academic-practitioners with a focus on international policy and diplomatic practice. She actively contributes to international policy development and delivers executive education and training in diplomacy through Australia's Diplomatic Academy and other global forums.

Today, Caitlin represents Queensland on the National Reference Group for the Australian Consortium for 'In-Country' Indonesian Studies (ACICIS) and holds appointments to the Australian Government's Sports Diplomacy Advisory Council, and the AP4D Advisory Board. As a champion for gender equity and empowerment, she currently leads Australia's civil society delegation to the W20. She also sits on the Queensland Fulbright Scholarships Committee and on the international advisory council for the International Relations Institute of Cambodia. She is an editorial board member for the Hague Journal of Diplomacy, East Asia Policy, and is co-editor of Palgrave Macmillan's Global Series on Public Diplomacy.

In 2020, Caitlin was made Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs (FAIIA) for her contribution to international education and Australia's engagement in the Asia-Pacific. In 2021 she received special commendation from the Japanese Consulate-General in Brisbane for her contribution to bilateral Australia-Japan relations. Caitlin is a Faculty Fellow of the University of Southern California's Centre for Public Diplomacy (CPD).

Professor Analise O'Donovan

PhD , MPsychClin , BA ( Hons )

Pro Vice Chancellor (Health)

Professor Analise O'Donovan became Pro Vice Chancellor (Health) in March 2022 after acting in the role since July 2021. Prior to this, Professor O'Donovan was Dean (Academic) of the Griffith Health Group.

Her primary areas of research include: effective training of clinical practitioners, positive psychology, and trauma. As a clinical psychologist, Professor O'Donovan has also worked in a range of mental health settings. She was the recipient of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Australian Awards for University Teaching and has considerable experience providing training and workshops in a range of areas, including wellbeing at work and supervision.

Professor Neal Menzies

BAgrSc ( Hons ), MAgrSt , PhD

Pro Vice Chancellor (Griffith Sciences)

Neal Menzies has a passion for agriculture and the environment, and has used his role as a teacher and research leader to bring others into this highly rewarding field. He believes that agricultural and environmental scientists must go further than identifying where human activity is harming the environment, they must also deliver workable solutions to the problems they identify. While his research spans a range of agricultural issues, he considers himself primarily a soil chemist, and sees soil science as a central discipline in the solution of a broad range of problems. Neal’s main research interests are plant mineral nutrition, bio-toxicity of trace metals, and the development of sustainable but highly productive tropical farming systems.

Following his PhD at the University of Queensland, Neal worked at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Cameroon, and then as an academic at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK, before returning to Australia to take a position at the University of Queensland.  He moved to the role of Pro Vice Chancellor (Sciences) at Griffith University in 2022.

Neal has undertaken many leadership roles in his discipline area of soil science and in agriculture more generally.  He is a Past President of the Australian Society of Soil Science, and Past Vice-President of the International Union of Soil Science.  He currently serves on the National Research and Innovation Committee, the New South Wales Planning Commission, the Australian Soils Network, and is the immediate past President of the Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture.

Professor Sarah Todd

BCom , Otago 1989; BA Massey 1990; MCom ( Dist ), Otago 1990; PhD , Otago 1997

Vice President (Global)

Professor Sarah Todd commenced at Griffith in late 2013, having previously been at the University of Otago in New Zealand.

As well as leading Griffith's internationalisation activities, Professor Todd serves on a number of boards related to international education, which currently include APAIE (Asia Pacific Association of International Education), of which she is also immediate past president, Deputy Chair of the Study Gold Coast, IEAA (International Education Association of Australia), Universities Australia's and the Innovative Research Universities' International Committees (both of which she is former Chair of), MSM's Global Advisory Board and the UAE University's College of Business and Economics Advisory Board.

Before moving to Australia, Sarah was Professor of Marketing at the University of Otago, as well as formerly being Academic Dean of the Otago School of Business and the University's inaugural Pro Vice Chancellor (International). Her academic research expertise is in the general area of consumer behaviour, particularly lifestyles and values research, children as consumers, and sustainable consumption.

Mr Marcus Ward

LLB ( Hons ) , MBA

Vice President (Advancement)

Mr Marcus Ward joined the University as Vice President (Advancement) in January 2022.

Marcus is an accomplished advancement leader and philanthropy expert with international experience at leading organisations including The Prince’s Trust in London.

Previously Chief Philanthropy Officer at Monash University, Marcus oversaw their first ever comprehensive fundraising campaign 'Change it. For good.' raising over $700m from a community of 43,000 donors to inspire transformational support for breakthrough research and education for all.

Prior to moving to Australia in 2013, Marcus was Head of Major Gifts at Queen’s University Belfast, where he worked on two comprehensive fundraising campaigns which redefined the importance of philanthropy in Northern Ireland and culminated in the team being recognised as the Times Higher University Fundraising Team of the Year 2012.

Before that Marcus led the Corporate and Trust Fundraising Team at The Prince's Trust in London, the Prince of Wales's largest charity, securing its largest ever philanthropic relationship with the English Premier League, still in place over 20 years later.