Margaret Gardner
Encyclopedia
Professor
Margaret Elaine Gardner, AO
is an Australian
academic, community leader
and economist
, and the current Vice-Chancellor of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
(RMIT University) in Melbourne
, Australia
.
with first class honours from the University of Sydney
, and later a PhD
with a thesis on Australian industrial relations. Following the completion of her PhD, she was awarded a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship
and studied in the US at the University of California, Berkeley
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and Cornell University
.
, Griffith University
and Queensland University of Technology
.
Prior to her appointment as the Vice-Chancellor of RMIT
, she was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland
. Prof. Gardner was appointed Vice-Chancellor of RMIT on 4 April 2005, taking over from care-taker Vice-Chancellor Chris Whitaker.
24 million budget shortfall in 2004 that left it teetering on the edge of disaster.
By the end of her first year as Vice-Chancellor, RMIT had posted a A$23.2 million surplus for 2005 which increased to a A$50.1 million surplus by 2007. The fast turn around in finances at RMIT was achieved through the sale of property in the university's extensive real estate portfolio, a 9% increase in student fees and cutting 180 staff positions.
Membership:
, which have been widely used as course texts in Australian universities. She's also a regular contributor to a wide range of international journals and speaker at various academic and government conferences.
Between 1998 and 2002, as Chair of two major Queensland Government taskforces, Prof. Gardner also authored three government reviews: "Queensland Industrial Relations Legislation", "Pathways Articulation Through the Post-Compulsory Years of School to Further Education Training" and "Labour Market Participation".
A selection of Prof. Gardner's research is available from the RMIT Research Repository.
in the Australia Day
Honours, for her "service to tertiary education
, particularly in the areas of university governance and gender equity; and to industrial relations in Queensland
". She's also an Honorary Doctor
of Griffith University
.
, AC
, is also the current Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne
, and together they are regularly referred to as "Melbourne's top academic couple".
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
Margaret Elaine Gardner, AO
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
is an Australian
Anglo-Celtic Australian
Anglo-Celtic Australian are citizens of Australia with British and/or Irish ancestral origins.-Demography:From the beginning of the colonial era until the mid-20th century, the vast majority of settlers were British or Irish...
academic, community leader
Community leader
A Community Leader is a designation, often by secondary sources , for a person who is perceived to represent a community. A simple way to understand community leadership is to see it as leadership in, for and by the community...
and economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
, and the current Vice-Chancellor of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
RMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
(RMIT University) in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Education
Prof. Gardner earned a bachelor's degree in economicsEconomics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
with first class honours from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, and later a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
with a thesis on Australian industrial relations. Following the completion of her PhD, she was awarded a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
and studied in the US at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
and Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
.
Career as an academic
Prof. Gardner has had a prominent career as an academic, and has served in executive positions with Deakin UniversityDeakin University
Deakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
, Griffith University
Griffith University
Griffith University is a public, coeducational, research university located in the southeastern region of the Australian state of Queensland. The university has five satellite campuses located in the Gold Coast, Logan City and in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt, Nathan and South Bank. Current...
and Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology is an Australian university with an applied emphasis in courses and research. Based in Brisbane, it has 40,000 students, including 6,000 international students, over 4,000 staff members, and an annual budget of more than A$750 million.QUT is marketed as "A...
.
Prior to her appointment as the Vice-Chancellor of RMIT
RMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
, she was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
. Prof. Gardner was appointed Vice-Chancellor of RMIT on 4 April 2005, taking over from care-taker Vice-Chancellor Chris Whitaker.
Vice-Chancellor of RMIT
At the time of Prof. Gardner's appointment to Vice-Chancellor, RMIT was at a crucial point in its 118 year history. RMIT's previous Vice-Chancellor Prof. Ruth Dunkin resigned after only four years in the position, and the university was fighting to overcome a A$Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
24 million budget shortfall in 2004 that left it teetering on the edge of disaster.
By the end of her first year as Vice-Chancellor, RMIT had posted a A$23.2 million surplus for 2005 which increased to a A$50.1 million surplus by 2007. The fast turn around in finances at RMIT was achieved through the sale of property in the university's extensive real estate portfolio, a 9% increase in student fees and cutting 180 staff positions.
Other current leadership roles
Executive:- President of RMIT International University Holdings Pty. Ltd.RMIT International University, VietnamThe Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology is an Australian-based university operating in Vietnam, with its main campus located in Ho Chi Minh City and a second campus in Hanoi...
- President of the Museum Board of VictoriaMuseum VictoriaMuseum Victoria is an organisation which operates three major state-owned museums in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; these are: the Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks. It also manages the Royal Exhibition Building and a storage facility in Melbourne's City of Moreland.Museum...
- Chair of the Australian Technology NetworkAustralian Technology NetworkThe Australian Technology Network is a network of five universities from each mainland state of Australia, with a heritage of working closely with industry...
- Chair of the Education Advisory Group of the Council for Australia-Latin America Relations
- Director of the Australian Teaching and Learning Council
- Director of the Victorian Opera CompanyVictorian Opera (Melbourne)Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 and commenced operations in January 2006 with funding from the Victorian government, and Richard Gill as Artistic Director...
Membership:
- Business-Higher Education Collaboration Council of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
- Learning and Teaching Performance Fund Advisory Committee of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
- Enterprise-Connect Centre Advisory Board of the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
- Melbourne Graduate School of BusinessUniversity of MelbourneThe University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
' LH Martin Institute for Leadership and Management - Australian Defence ForceAustralian Defence ForceThe Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
's Reference Group on Women
Professional works
Prof. Gardner has authored, co-authoured and edited a number of texts in the fields of industrial relations and human resource managementHuman resource management
Human Resource Management is the management of an organization's employees. While human resource management is sometimes referred to as a "soft" management skill, effective practice within an organization requires a strategic focus to ensure that people resources can facilitate the achievement of...
, which have been widely used as course texts in Australian universities. She's also a regular contributor to a wide range of international journals and speaker at various academic and government conferences.
Between 1998 and 2002, as Chair of two major Queensland Government taskforces, Prof. Gardner also authored three government reviews: "Queensland Industrial Relations Legislation", "Pathways Articulation Through the Post-Compulsory Years of School to Further Education Training" and "Labour Market Participation".
A selection of Prof. Gardner's research is available from the RMIT Research Repository.
Honours
In 2007, Prof. Gardner was made an Officer of the Order of AustraliaOrder of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
in the Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
Honours, for her "service to tertiary education
Tertiary education
Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, university-preparatory school...
, particularly in the areas of university governance and gender equity; and to industrial relations in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
". She's also an Honorary Doctor
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
of Griffith University
Griffith University
Griffith University is a public, coeducational, research university located in the southeastern region of the Australian state of Queensland. The university has five satellite campuses located in the Gold Coast, Logan City and in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt, Nathan and South Bank. Current...
.
Personal life
Her husband Prof. Glyn DavisGlyn Davis
Glyn Conrad Davis, AC is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.- Early life :Professor Davis was educated at Marist Brothers College, Kogarah...
, AC
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, is also the current Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, and together they are regularly referred to as "Melbourne's top academic couple".