ARC CEO to head up UQ

The CEO of the Australian Research Council (ARC), Professor Aidan Byrne, will depart the ARC later this year to take up the position of provost at The University of Queensland (UQ). His appointment was announced yesterday by UQ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Høj, following an international search that generated interest from a strong field.

Professor Byrne joined the ARC in 2012. Since that time, he has helped deliver key priorities within the agency, including the redevelopment of the Research Management System, stronger links and cross-agency work with the National Health and Medical Research Council, increasing accountability and openness with ARC data and continual improvements to Excellence in Research for Australia.

Before becoming ARC CEO, Professor Byrne held the dual role of Dean of Science and Director of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at the Australian National University (ANU). He has also held postdoctoral positions with the University of Melbourne and in Bonn, Germany, where he was a von Humboldt Fellow.

“I am delighted that UQ has attracted a candidate with Professor Byrne’s extensive leadership experience and deep understanding of Australian higher education and the global context,” said Professor Høj, adding that Professor Byrne’s experience on a range of committees will be “a tremendous asset”.

“He has, for instance, been a member of the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council, the Expert Working Group of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, and the Singapore National Research Foundation Advisory Board.”

Professor Byrne, who is currently in India for a meeting of the Global Research Council, said he will leave the ARC with a heavy heart, as there is “much more [he] would have liked to have achieved”.

“However,” he continued, “positions such as the one I am taking at UQ do not present daily.” Provost is a key position at UQ, with senior executive leadership in strategic planning, academic quality, and budget and infrastructure management.

“So while I will walk away from everything I love at the ARC, I am also walking into a new position that I am extremely excited about and a position where I also hope to make a difference.”

Professor Byrne will take over from Acting Provost Professor Joanne Wright when he arrives at UQ in the last quarter of 2016. The process to appoint a new ARC CEO will commence after the current caretaker period.