Eminent academic and university sector leader, Professor Margaret Gardner AC, will be appointed the 30th Governor of Victoria.
The Premier, the Honourable Daniel Andrews MP today announced that eminent academic and university sector leader, Professor Margaret Gardner AC, will be appointed the 30th Governor of Victoria.
The term of the current Governor, Her Excellency the Honourable Linda Dessau AC CVO, will conclude on Friday, 30 June 2023.
Professor Gardner will commence her five-year term as Governor on Wednesday, 9 August 2023, after she concludes in her current role with Monash University.
During the interim period before Professor Gardner’s inauguration, the Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria, Professor James Angus AO, will administer the State of Victoria.
A prominent and well-respected academic with a background in economics, industrial relations and organisational management, Professor Gardner has had a distinguished career in Australia’s university sector and abroad.
Professor Gardner is the first woman to lead Monash University, having served as President and Vice-Chancellor since 2014.
She previously served as Vice-Chancellor and President of RMIT University between 2005 and 2014, and has also held senior executive leadership and academic positions at the University of Queensland and Griffith University.
Professor Gardner was a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow spending time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University, and the University of California, Berkeley. In 2018, she was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.
In 2007, Professor Gardner was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in recognition of her service to tertiary education – particularly in the areas of gender equity and university governance – and to industrial relations.
In 2020, she was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia for her eminent service to tertiary education through leadership and innovation in teaching and learning, research and financial sustainability.
Professor Gardner was Chair of the Group of Eight Universities in Australia from 2020 until 2023 and Chair of Universities Australia from 2017 to 2019.
She has also been a member of a range of boards and committees including Infrastructure Victoria, Museums Victoria, the Australia and New Zealand School of Government, the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, the ANZAC Centenary Advisory Board and the Australian Technology Network.
Invitations or requests to the Governor-Designate
All invitations or requests to the Governor-Designate, including to attend or host an event, can be sent to the Official Secretary.
Mail address:
Jonathan Burke
Official Secretary
Office of the Governor
Government House
Melbourne 3004
Email address:
You can email your invitation or request to the Official Secretary: requests@govhouse.vic.gov.au