Chancellor Professor Peter Shergold AC

The Chancellor of the University of Western Sydney, Professor Peter Shergold AC, was formally welcomed at a ceremony on Saturday 19 March 2011. Professor Shergold was installed as UWS Chancellor by the Governor of NSW, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, and in this capacity chairs the University's Board of Trustees. With a distinguished academic and public service career that spans over three decades, Professor Shergold brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his role with the University.

As the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet from 2003-2008, Professor Shergold was the nation’s most senior public servant. In two decades as a senior public servant he served four Prime Ministers and eight Ministers in both Labor and Coalition governments.

During this time, he established the Office of Multicultural Affairs, headed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), and was Public Service Commissioner. He was Secretary of several government departments, including the Department of Education, Science and Training, and the Department of Employment, Workforce Relations and Small Business.

Professor Shergold has a Bachelor of Arts (First Class) from the University of Hull in the United Kingdom, a Master of Arts in History from the University of Illinois and a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics.

In 2005, Professor Shergold was elected a Fellow of The Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. He is also a Fellow of Australia and New Zealand School of Government and of the Institute of Public Administration Australia.

He serves on the Boards of AMP and Corrs Chambers Westgarth. In the not-for-profit arena he is on the Boards of the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence and the General Sir John Monash Foundation. He also Chairs the Board of the National Centre for Vocational Education Research. He has headed the Ministerial Expert Group on Gambling. Most recently premier Barry O'Farrell has appointed Professor Shergold to be Chair of a new NSW Public Service Board.

In 2010 the UWS Board of Trustees elected Professor Shergold as successor to Mr John Phillips who retired in December after almost 10 years of service as Chancellor.