�ϳܱ��Բ������Ի�’s Griffith University has named biomedical scientist Jessica Vanderlelie its next vice-chancellor, making her the first alumna to lead the institution.

Vanderlelie, a Gold Coast native, earned her bachelor’s, honours and doctoral degrees at Griffith before beginning her academic career there. She has a distinguished teaching career, having claimed Griffith’s inaugural Vice-Chancellor’s Teacher of the Year award and going on to earn an Australian Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching from Universities Australia in 2012. Four years later, she claimed the inaugural Vice-Chancellor’s Fellowship from the Innovative Research Universities group to undertake work on student success programmes.

Griffith’s chancellor, Andrew Fraser, said Vanderlelie was an outstanding educational leader who was “passionate about the opportunity for education to make a difference. Her commitment to students – particularly those from under-represented backgrounds – has defined her career,” he said.

Vanderlelie has courted controversy in administrative postings as deputy vice-chancellor at La Trobe and Deakin universities, however. Her tenure coincided with contentious restructures that cost dozens of jobs at La Trobe University and led to the vice-chancellor’s removal at Deakin University.

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“She has created a lot of trauma for members at her previous institution,” said Michael McNally, Queensland secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union, referring to Deakin. “A number of heads rolled at that institution over that proposal.

“We…hope that she is coming up to Queensland for a fresh start [and] is not being brought in to cut staff, and we hope that she has the nous not to rely too heavily on consultants in her position at Griffith.”

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Vanderlelie joined Deakin in March 2025. The Geelong Advertiser on 4 September that she had resigned from the institution “after a turbulent tenure marked by a failed restructure and staff unrest”.

Fraser said Vanderlelie was “fully committed” to Griffith’s strategic plan and the vision by Carolyn Evans, the previous vice-chancellor, who has left to head the University of Melbourne.

“This appointment does not signal a change in direction,” he said. “It signals the energy required to deliver on our strategy in a way that focuses on students.”

Vanderlelie said Griffith’s Gold Coast campus had “felt like home” when she first arrived three decades ago. “That sense of belonging built my confidence as a first-in-family student and sparked a passion for the student experience that has shaped my career.

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“I’m energised by the Griffith we are today and excited for a future where people belong, where they are trusted to be ambitious, where diverse voices help us see problems differently, and where ideas create opportunity.”

Federal treasurer Jim Chalmers, a Griffith alumnus whose electorate includes one of the university’s campuses, Vanderlelie on her appointment.

Western Sydney University vice-chancellor George Williams, who chairs the 2050 Alliance of universities, said Vanderlelie was joining the group at a time of “significant change” in Australian higher education. “Her constant focus on student success and the positive role of universities in their communities will be valuable to guide the work of the 2050 Alliance,” he said.

Vanderlelie will take up the role on 16 November.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com