Professor Carolyn Evans, Universities Australia Chair, will Address the National Press Club on “State of the Sector Address”.

The Universities Australia Chair will deliver a major national address on the state of Australia’s university sector at a critical moment for the nation’s future. The speech will set out the sector’s role in driving productivity, skills and innovation, and outline the reforms needed to ensure universities can continue to deliver for students, communities and the economy. It will also reflect on the challenges facing the sector and the opportunities ahead, with a clear focus on building a stronger, more prosperous Australia.

BIO

Professor Carolyn Evans is Vice Chancellor and President of Griffith University, a role she has held since the start of 2019. In late 2026, she will commence as the Vice Chancellor of Melbourne University. Carolyn graduated with degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Melbourne and earned her doctorate from Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar. She has taught law at Oxford and Melbourne Universities.

Before joining Griffith University, Carolyn served as Dean of Law and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Graduate and International) and Professor of Law at the University of Melbourne. She received a Fulbright Senior Scholarship in 2010 and in 2019, Carolyn was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

Carolyn is the Chair of Universities Australia and has held various leadership roles, including Queensland Chair and national board member of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia from 2023-2025, President of the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association from 2022-2024, Chair of the Innovative Research Universities from 2021-2022 and board member of Open Universities Australia from 2019-2023. Currently, she is a board member of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission.