Monash University appoints new Provost and Senior Vice-President

Professor Dunne joins Monash from the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, where he has served as Provost and Senior Vice-President since April 2022 and as Interim President and Vice-Chancellor between May and September 2025.

As Provost and Senior Vice-President at the University of Surrey, Professor Dunne collaborated with faculty leaders to develop and deliver an integrated suite of policies that enhanced academic performance. He subsequently took on responsibility for improving Surrey’s global rankings, steering the university to an immediate uplift of 23 places in the QS league table. He was also instrumental in implementing stronger budgetary controls, resulting in a significant financial turnaround for the institution over the last two years.

Throughout his tenure, Professor Dunne served as deputy to then President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Max Lu AO, providing strategic advice and leadership across the academic portfolio. He chaired the University of Surrey Senate – strengthening the academic representation of this key governance body – and also served on several prominent university committees and boards.

Before joining the University of Surrey, Professor Dunne held executive leadership roles at the University of Queensland (UQ) for more than ten years. There he served as Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (2010-2013). Executive Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (2014-2017), and Deputy Provost (2018-2021). Previously he held leadership roles at the University of Exeter where he had the opportunity to work closely with his long-standing mentor Sir Steve Smith during his presidency of the university.