Mr Peter N Varghese AO
Chancellor of The University of Queensland
Mr Varghese took up his position as the fourteenth Chancellor at The University of Queensland on 11 July 2016.
Prior to this appointment, Mr Varghese was Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 3 December 2012 to 1 July 2016. His diplomatic appointments include High Commissioner to India (2009–12), High Commissioner to Malaysia (2000–02) and postings to Tokyo, Washington and Vienna.
From 2004–09, Mr Varghese was Director-General of the Office of National Assessments, a statutory office that reports directly to the Prime Minister and also coordinates the Australian intelligence community. In 2003, Mr Varghese was the senior international adviser in the office of Prime Minister John Howard. He also headed up the international division of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet from 1998–99.
In 1996–97, Mr Varghese headed up the secretariat which drafted Australia’s first White Paper on foreign and trade policy. In July 2018 Mr Varghese submitted the India Economic Strategy to 2035 commissioned by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2017.
Mr Varghese was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) in 2010 for distinguished service to public administration, particularly in leading reform in the Australian intelligence community and as an adviser in the areas of foreign policy and international security. He was awarded a Doctor of Letters honoris causa by The University of Queensland in July 2013 in recognition of his distinguished service to diplomacy and Australian public service.
Mr Varghese sits on the boards of CARE Australia and North Queensland Airports and chairs Asialink’s advisory council and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Editorial Advisory Board. He is also on the international governing board of the Rajaratnum School of International Studies in Singapore. He was awarded the Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop Asialink Medal in 2019 in recognition of outstanding contributions to improving Australia-Asia relations.
Mr Varghese is a graduate and university medalist in history from The University of Queensland. He is married to Margaret Varghese. They have one adult son and a grandson.
University Profile
The University of Queensland (UQ) is one of Australia’s leading teaching and research universities. For more than a century, UQ has educated and worked with outstanding people to deliver knowledge leadership for a better world.
Across UQ’s three campuses, our 6962 staff and 55,300 students – including almost 20,000 postgraduates and approximately 20,000 international students from 135 countries – teach, research and study.
UQ consistently ranks among the world’s top universities as measured by several key independent rankings, including the CWTS Leiden Ranking (36)*, U.S. News Best Global Universities Rankings (42), Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities (40), QS World University Rankings (47), Academic Ranking of World Universities (54), and Times Higher Education World University Rankings (66).
With a strong focus on teaching excellence, UQ has won more national teaching awards than any other Australian university, and attracts the majority of Queensland’s high achievers, as well as top interstate and overseas students.
UQ’s 276,000 graduates are an engaged network of global alumni spanning more than 170 countries, and include more than 14,800 PhDs.
With a 2019 operating revenue of $2.19 billion, including around $583 million in research investment, UQ’s six faculties and eight globally recognised research institutes cover a remarkable breadth of teaching and research. Demonstrating our research quality, UQ was recognised for above world standard research in 93 specialised fields in the 2018 Excellence in Research for Australia exercise – more than any other Australian university – and is the number one recipient of Australian Research Council Fellowships and Awards nationally across all scheme years (419 awards worth $290 million).
UQ is also an undisputed leader in research commercialisation. To date, UQ discoveries have produced more than $32 billion in gross product sales, and UQ intellectual property has founded more than 100 startups – a milestone unsurpassed by any other Australian university.
UQ is one of only three Australian members of the global Universitas 21; a founding member of the Group of Eight (Go8) universities; a member of Universities Australia; and one of only three Australian charter members of the prestigious edX enterprise, the global consortium creating massive open online courses (MOOCs).
* This ranking is measured by the Impact indicator P(top 10%), ordered by P(top 10%) with fractional counting.
To find out more, visit The University of Queensland website www.uq.edu.au
Governance
The University of Queensland Senate
Senate is the peak governing body of the University as constituted by The University of Queensland Act 1998. The 34th Senate began its four-year term on 1 January 2018.
The primary role of Senate is to exercise oversight of the University and its affairs. In particular, Senate ensures that the appropriate structures, policies, processes and planning are in place for UQ to effectively manage its activities and achieve its goals. Senate reviews and approves the strategic direction of the University as outlined in The University of Queensland’s Strategic Plan.
Membership of The University of Queensland’s Senate is as follows:
Ex-Officio Members
Mr Peter N Varghese AO – Chancellor
Professor Deborah Terry AO – Vice Chancellor and President
Professor Peter Adams – President of the Academic Board
Appointed Members – Governor-in-Council
Ms Julieanne Alroe
Mr Tim Crommelin
Mr Phil Hennessy AO
Mr Jamie Merrick
Mr Grant Murdoch
Dr Sally Pitkin AO
Ms Cecile Wake
[Vacancy]
Appointed Members – Senate
Ms Anne Cross AM
Ms Tonianne Dwyer
Ms Michelle Tredenick
Elected Members
Professor Greg Hainge – Academic Board
Professor Bronwyn Lea – Academic Staff
Ms Rebecca Hurst – Professional Staff
Associate Professor Douglas Cavaye – Graduate
Adjunct Associate Professor Dimity Dornan AO – Graduate
Mr Elliott Johnson – Graduate
Mr Richard Lee – Postgraduate Student
Ms Gabii Starr – Undergraduate Student
Other Governing Bodies
Other governing bodies within the University include:
Academic Board
President – Professor Peter Adams
Campus Infrastructure Committee
Chair – Ms Tonianne Dwyer
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee
Chair – Ms Julieanne Alroe
Finance Committee
Chair – Mr Phil Hennessy AO
Governance Committee
Chair – Mr Peter N Varghese AO, Chancellor
Honorary Awards Committee
Chair – Mr Peter N Varghese AO, Chancellor
Remuneration Committee
Chair – Mr Peter N Varghese AO, Chancellor
Risk Committee
Chair – Mr Grant Murdoch
Senate Student Appeals Committee
Chair – Professor Joanne Wright
Senate Discipline Appeals Committee
Chair – Dr Sally Pitkin AO