Professor Rebekah Brown appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Senior Vice-President of Monash University
Monash University is delighted to announce that Professor Rebekah Brown has been appointed to the role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Senior Vice-President commencing on 21 June 2021.
Professor Rebekah Brown is currently the Senior Vice-Provost and Vice-Provost (Research), a position she has held since November 2018.
Professor Brown has successfully developed and led the performance, revenue diversification, and operations of research services and more recently, research infrastructure. She has a deep knowledge of the capacities and performance of researchers at Monash and the strategic opportunities for future development of research excellence and impact informed by a network of national and international advisors and funding organisations.
President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Gardner AC said: “Professor Brown brings extensive knowledge, leadership experience and expertise to the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Senior Vice-President, and I congratulate her on this significant appointment. Through this University-wide leadership role she will be responsible for advancing research excellence and impact within the globally competitive and dynamic higher education landscape.”
Professor Brown’s research and career achievements demonstrate a deep commitment to positive societal change through sustainable development. Her previous roles include Director, Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI), where she was responsible for the major multinational and multidisciplinary Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE) program and leading successful organisation-wide strategic and structural reform. Prior to holding these positions, Professor Brown was Chief Research Officer, Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, where she co-founded the ‘water sensitive cities’ research platform at Monash. She has also led the development of a number of new major initiatives, including a new program addressing community resilience following bushfires in Australia, funded by two major philanthropic gifts totalling $50 million.
Professor Brown began her career as a civil engineer on major international infrastructure projects. She subsequently retrained as a research social scientist with a distinguished record of research and scholarship in urban sustainable development practices. She has authored over 200 publications in journals including Nature and Global Environmental Change, and as Chief Investigator, has attracted in excess of $120 million in external research revenue.
Professor Brown’s leadership experience and expertise will provide a strong platform to enable her as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Senior Vice-President, to further advance the University’s research performance, diversification of research funding, and enhance innovation and collaboration with research partners.
Arrangements for the vacated role of Senior Vice-Provost and Vice-Provost (Research) will be announced in due course.