The University of Notre Dame Australia is pleased to announce that Professor Francis Campbell will join the University as Vice Chancellor commencing January 2020.
Professor Campbell is currently the Vice Chancellor at St Mary’s University, Twickenham in London where he has achieved significant success in the past five years.
He becomes Notre Dame’s fourth Vice Chancellor, succeeding Professor Celia Hammond.
Professor Campbell will bring a wealth of experience to Notre Dame.
He will draw on a highly successful term as Vice Chancellor of St Mary’s, a deep understanding of higher education, and a practical knowledge of the value and importance of holistic education.
His extensive tertiary qualifications include an MA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania in the USA and an MA in European Integration from the Katholieke Universiteit in Belgium.
He has received honorary doctorates from five universities worldwide and an Honorary Fellowship from St Edmund’s College at Cambridge University in the UK.
Apart from academia, Professor Campbell has immense diversity of experience, which includes serving as Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Holy See, and a term as Private Secretary to former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
“The Directors and Trustees of Notre Dame are delighted that a person of Professor Campbell’s impeccable credentials will be leading the University,” said Notre Dame’s Chancellor, the Hon Chris Ellison.
“Professor Campbell has an outstanding reputation as an academic and diplomat, and brings considerable wisdom, leadership and international relationships to his new role at Notre Dame.”
Professor Campbell said he was excited about joining Notre Dame:
“The University of Notre Dame Australia’s reputation among Australian universities is exemplary and I am honoured at the opportunity to become its fourth Vice Chancellor,” he said.
“As a University, Notre Dame draws on centuries of teaching, scholarship and research, foundations which it shares with over two thousand Catholic universities and colleges across the world. Notre Dame’s great name nationally and internationally is testament to the way its Boards and previous Vice Chancellors have been careful custodians of that unique heritage and role.
“I aim to protect and nurture Notre Dame’s outstanding achievements, in particular, the recognition by its students as the best University in Australia for overall quality of educational experience.
“Universities such as Notre Dame are incredibly successful in balancing their commitment to academic excellence with a strong pastoral care program for students and staff, which I see as essential.
“As Vice Chancellor, I’m as interested in our students’ personal growth as much as their academic development, because the two are uniquely intertwined.
“I’m also excited to be joining a highly experienced and qualified team of professional staff who can be duly proud of what they are achieving for Notre Dame’s students. I am equally excited by the opportunity to further grow and develop Notre Dame across its three campuses, Fremantle, Sydney and Broome.
“I am honoured to take on this role at Notre Dame as I will have the opportunity, along with a wonderful team and community of highly committed people, to contribute to the future of a vibrant, modern and growing University which draws on centuries of tradition. The Fremantle Campus is something to behold, with its collection of heritage buildings. I am also looking forward to moving to Australia, a country where my family put down roots from Ireland in previous generations.”
About Professor Francis Campbell
Education
- BA in Political Science and Scholastic Philosophy – Queens University Belfast
- MA in European Integration – Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
- MA in International Relations – University of Pennsylvania, USA (Thouron Fellow)
Academic Honours
Professor Campbell has Honorary Doctorates from Fordham University (New York), Queen’s University (Belfast), Steubenville University (Ohio), Misercordia University (Pennsylvania), the Pakistan Institute of Business and Technology (Karachi), and the President’s Medal from the Catholic University of America. He is also an Honorary Fellow of St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge University.
Career
Professor Campbell Joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as a member of Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service in 1997. He has worked at the United Nations Security Council in New York, the European Union, and at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London and on diplomatic postings overseas. From 1999-2003, he served on the staff of the then Prime Minister Tony Blair, first as a Policy Adviser in the No.10 Policy Unit, and then as a Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. He also served on secondment with Amnesty International as the Senior Director of Policy. From 2005-2011 he served as Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Holy See. From 2011-13 he served as Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan. From 2013-2014 he was the Head of the Policy Unit in the FCO and Director of Innovation at UK Trade and Investment. In 2014 he was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London. He is also Professor of International Relations at St. Mary’s University.
Professor Campbell was a Member of the Advisory Panel of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, London. He serves as a Governor of St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, London, and of St. Elizabeth’s School in Richmond, Surrey. He is a Trustee of Forward Thinking, a London based NGO and Think-Tank.
He has lived in the United States, Poland, Belgium, Pakistan, Italy and Ireland. He speaks Italian and French.