Former PM Julia Gillard appointed as the next Vice-Chancellor of the University of Adelaide.
After months of deliberation, the University of Adelaide Council has appointed the former Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, as the next Vice-Chancellor of the university.
In an email sent out to staff, Chancellor Kevin Scarce wrote to announce the appointment. Unfortunately, the screenshots are under embargo; however we have been granted permission to print a portion of the text within the email.
The University of Adelaide is an institution of excellence. After months of searching for a new Vice-Chancellor — a search conducted on a global scale — we have found a suitable replacement for Warren Bebbington. On behalf of the university, I would like to welcome The Honorable Julia Gillard to our community as the next Vice-Chancellor of the University of Adelaide. May her successes be our successes.
The current Vice-Chancellor, Warren Bebbington, signaled his intention to resign at the end of last year. His tenure will expire on the 30th of April. Ms. Gillard is expected to be formally appointed on this date.
When she assumes her role, Ms. Gillard will have her hands full considering she is also taking on the role as Chair of Beyond Blue. This will make Ms. Gillard our Vice Chancellor who was also a former Prime Minister. We contacted Ms. Gillard’s office for comment and they had this to say:
“Ms. Gillard is not one to shy away from a challenge. Her ethos is and always has been that young people with the right support and the right education can achieve remarkable things. While she acknowledges that taking on two huge responsibilities concurrently will be difficult, she is looking forward to learning from both roles and utilizing her knowledge from one field into the other.”
So, what do we know about or new VC? Ms. Gillard was the 27th Prime Minister of Australia and the first woman in Australian history to hold the position as Prime Minister, deputy leader, and leader of a major political party. During her tenure as Prime Minister, she established many major policy initiatives including the NBN, the NDIS, the infamous ‘Carbon Tax’, and education funding through the Gonski Review.
Ms. Gillard is currently an honorary Professor at the university where she occasionally gives lectures on Politics and other issues of expertise. Earlier last week, she gave a public lecture on mental health. Ms. Gillard has also written for On Dit, meaning that if you write for us then perhaps you can one day be Prime Minister too!
Pinch and a punch for the first day of the month, aye?
