Clifford Douglas (C. D.) Blake AO is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

agriculturalist and educationalist who became first

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Napier Sturt, a British explorer w ...

, from 1990 through to 2001 and then after his retirement from CSU in July 2001, he took up an interim Vice-Chancellor position at

Adelaide University The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

from August 2001. Blake was born in

Muswellbrook Muswellbrook ( ) is a town in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. Geologically, Muswellbrook is situated in the northern parts of the Sydney basin, bordering the New Englan ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1937. He studied at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and at

Rothamsted Experimental Station Rothamsted Research, previously known as the Rothamsted Experimental Station and then the Institute of Arable Crops Research, is one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, having been founded in 1843. It is located at Harp ...

in England, where he earned a

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from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. After completing a Rockefeller Travelling Fellowship in the United States, where he visited centres of biological teaching and research, Blake became a lecturer in plant pathology at The University of Sydney and the Wilson Fellow and Senior Tutor at St Andrew's College. In 1971 he was appointed Principal of the new Riverina College of Advanced Education, which he developed into one of the leading providers of distance education courses in Australia, introducing courses in business, liberal studies, and science. After amalgamating with the Wagga Agricultural College, he was able to introduce courses in agriculture and relocated the College to a new greenfield site north of the city. In 1981, he oversaw the amalgamation of the College with the Goulburn College of Advanced Education to become the Riverina-Murray Institute of Higher Education. He was also a member of the Board of Adult Education in New South Wales, a member of the Advanced Education Council of the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission and the Chairman of the NSW Advanced Education Conference. In 1988 he was made a member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

and later appointed the first Vice-Chancellor of Charles Sturt University. He was elected a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and awarded the

Farrer Memorial Medal The Farrer Memorial Trust was established in 1911 in Australia in memory of William Farrer. Initially established to provide study scholarships to Agricultural Scientists, the Trust became responsible in 1941 for the annual presentation of the F ...

in 1996 for his contributions to agricultural science.

References

Living people 1937 births University of Sydney alumni Alumni of the University of London Australian biologists Farrer Medal recipients Officers of the Order of Australia Vice-Chancellors of the University of Adelaide Charles Sturt University faculty {{Australia-academic-bio-stub