Mr Brumby will start on 29 March 2019, taking over from current Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins AO who has been in the vital governance position since February 2017.
Deputy Chancellor Andrew Eddy led the search process and welcomed Mr Brumby to the University.
“John Brumby has had a lifelong commitment to the benefits of education, economic development and research innovation. We are very pleased he has agreed to join us at La Trobe,” Mr Eddy said.
“He is a deep thinker and clear communicator with an eagle eye for detail. Mr Brumby is ambitious and passionate and sets the highest standards for himself and those he works with.
“I am delighted that University Council has been able to appoint a community, political and business leader of such high calibre to the role of Chancellor at La Trobe University.
“This role is vital to the effective operation of the University, being the chair of our governing body. With John Brumby as Chancellor we are in safe, strong, professional and ambitious hands.”
Mr Brumby said he looked forward to becoming La Trobe University Chancellor.
“I am both excited and deeply honoured to be taking on this important role. I thank Professor Richard Larkins for the outstanding leadership he has provided as both Councillor and Chancellor over many years,” Mr Brumby said.
“I have been closely associated with La Trobe University for more than two decades - starting with the establishment of La Trobe’s Bendigo campus as Federal MP in 1989, ensuring development of the AgriBio facility at the Melbourne campus during my time as Premier, through to my current involvement as Chair of the Olivia Newton John Cancer Research Institute.
“With fifty years of history, La Trobe’s growth, over the last ten years in particular, has been both remarkable and impressive. Its future success - particularly in regional Victoria and in Melbourne’s northern suburbs in the fields of research and development - will be pivotal to ensuring a strong and vibrant Victorian economy for many years to come,” he said.
La Trobe Vice-Chancellor Professor John Dewar said he looked forward to working with Mr Brumby.
“John Brumby brings a vast depth of experience, wisdom and insight to La Trobe. His strong business acumen, connections to decision and policy makers at all levels of government and community, plus his passion for excellence will be hugely beneficial to all our students.
“Mr Brumby is also deeply committed to the economic, social and intellectual development of regional and rural Victoria, which aligns with La Trobe’s strong regional presence and our mission to ensure all Victorians can access the life-changing benefits of university education. He started his working career in Bendigo as a secondary school teacher and has continued to have a strong connection to that community ever since.
“I am confident John Brumby will make an outstanding contribution to the growth and governance of Victoria’s third-oldest University.”
Mr Brumby was the Premier of Victoria between 2007 and 2010. He has immense experience in public life, serving for more than 10 years as Treasurer and then Premier of Victoria, six years as Leader of the Victorian Opposition and seven years as Federal MHR for Bendigo during the period of the Hawke Government.
In the last seven years Mr Brumby has taken on a range of roles in the business, not for profit and university sectors. He is chair of a number of business organisations including Citywide Solutions Pty Ltd, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust, BioCurate, and the Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA) Superannuation Fund. He is also an Enterprise Professor at the University of Melbourne.
In the not for profit sector Mr Brumby is Chair of the Olivia Newton John Cancer Research Institute and the Fred Hollows Foundation. He is also the National President of the Australia China Business Council.
Mr Brumby was awarded an Order of Australia in 2017 for distinguished service to the Parliament of Victoria, to economic management and medical biotechnology innovation, to improved rural and regional infrastructure, and to the community.
Professor Larkins said it was an honour to be the Chancellor of La Trobe University and that he is delighted to be succeeded by someone as distinguished and accomplished as the Honourable John Brumby.
Media contact: Tim Mitchell – 0437457780/ t.mitchell@latrobe.edu.au
