Dr Michael Spence AC

Dr Michael Spence is the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Sydney – the first university to open in Australia in 1850. In 2019, it has 6,000 staff and 70,000 enrolled students, approximately 40% of whom are international students.

An alumnus of the University of Sydney, Dr Spence graduated with first-class honours in English, Italian and Law. His other languages include Chinese and Korean. Dr Spence obtained a Doctor of Philosophy and a Postgraduate Diploma in Theology from the University of Oxford, where he was a Fellow of St Catherine’s College. Later, he became the head of Oxford’s Law Faculty and its Social Sciences division. He is internationally recognised in the field of intellectual property theory in terms of both intellectual property law and the law of obligations.

Dr Spence returned to the University of Sydney as Vice-Chancellor in 2008 and since that time has led a distinctive effort to position the University as the best in Australia and a leading global institution. Under his leadership, the University has established 10 new multidisciplinary initiatives, funded cutting-edge research, invested in world-leading infrastructure, begun negotiations to develop a second independent campus and become the first institution in Australia to obtain $1 billion in philanthropic fundraising. Administratively, Dr Spence directed the simplification of the University’s structure from 16 to 6 faculties and a program of other reforms to improve performance, efficiency and long-term financial sustainability.

At the same time, the University adopted a distinctive strategy that has transformed its undergraduate curriculum; strengthened our disciplinary and interdisciplinary research; improved the culture of the institution around core values; and redeveloped the primary campus. The University continues to nurture strong, multi-layered partnerships with industry and other top-tier universities to maintain its reputation for international excellence.

As a result, the University of Sydney was the only Australian university to climb in all four of the most prestigious global university rankings in 2018. The University’s graduates are also consistently ranked the most employable in Australia and in the top five globally according to the QS Graduate Employability Rankings, which is determined by employer reputation, alumni outcomes and partnerships with employers.

In 2017, he was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours for eminent service to leadership of the tertiary education sector, to the advancement of equitable access to educational opportunities, to developing strategic programs focused on multidisciplinary research, and to the Anglican Church of Australia.