Leading Initiatives In Higher Education

Vice-Chancellor and President of Monash University, Professor Sharon Pickering, was appointed on 29 January 2024.

Professor Pickering is a leading international scholar in the field of criminology with global expertise on border crossings, migration and trafficking. Her work across criminology and higher education has attracted numerous awards including an Australian Human Rights Commission Award, the Leon Radzinowicz Prize, the CM Alder Prize, the International Education Association of Australia Best Practice Award and the Australian Financial Review International Education Award. In 2018, she was made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Social Sciences.

Professor Pickering has held an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship and ARC funding over many years and served on the ARC College and ERA panels. She has served on numerous editorial boards and held editorial positions with leading journals and publishers.

She has published 15 books and over 80 articles and book chapters and has led major research programs across Europe, South East Asia and the Pacific. She has extensive international experience developing multifaceted research and education relationships with institutions across Indonesia, India, China, Malaysia, the Pacific and Europe and longstanding industry relationships across law enforcement, government and the NGO sector serving in various advisory capacities.

In senior management at Monash University, Professor Pickering previously served as Acting Provost and Senior Vice-President, providing leadership of the ten Monash Faculties, as well as the University’s international campuses: Monash University, Malaysia, Monash University, Indonesia, Monash Suzhou in China, the IITB-Monash Research Academy in India and the Monash University Prato Centre in Italy.

Professor Pickering has also served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) and Senior Vice-President with responsibility for education strategy, student experience, teaching and learning, scholarships, executive education, online education and related functions for the University.

She has served as the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, the Head of Social Sciences and the Head of Criminology, as well as exercising University-wide leadership across key strategic domains including international campuses, research theme programs, workforce change and enterprise bargaining, and budget reform.

Professor Pickering is a committed advocate of the benefits of international education and has led the development of a number of major initiatives including Monash’s flagship international study initiative, the Global Immersion Guarantee.

She established and has led the University’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion portfolio, building on three decades of work on gender-based violence as a researcher, educator and advocate.

Professor Pickering holds a Doctor of Philosophy, University of Melbourne (2000), Master of Arts (Criminal Justice), University of Southampton, United Kingdom (1995), and a Bachelor of Arts, University of Melbourne (1994).

As well as being a formidable advocate for higher education, she is raising a household of passionate young people and is a die-hard supporter of the Geelong Football Club.

This is an exceptional opportunity for members, potential members and guests.