Gregory Joseph Craven (born 5 March 1958) is an Australian

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, who was the

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 ...

and president of the

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamatio ...

from January 2008 to January 2021. On 8 April 2020, the ACU chancellor, John Fahey, announced Craven's planned retirement in an email to staff and students, which was to become effective in January 2021. His successor was named as Zlatko Skrbis, who took up his appointment as ACU's fourth Vice Chancellor on 11 January 2021.

Education

Craven was educated at St Kevin's College in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

suburb of and graduated from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

with a BA (1980); a

LL.B Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(1981); a

LL.M A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

(1984); and a PhD candidate. The literary critic

Peter Craven Peter Theodore Craven
, fansite biography by Jim Blanchard. (accessed 12 July 2006). (21 June 1934 – 2 ...

is his older brother.

Career

Craven has researched and written on constitutional law, government, public policy, constitutional history and

federalism Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (Province, provincial, State (sub-national), state, Canton (administrative division), can ...

. He was a leading advocate of

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...

in the leadup to the (eventually unsuccessful) 1999 referendum on the proposed change in Australia from being a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

to a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. He is also noted as a key Australian Catholic layman for opinions on important issues. Before joining ACU, he was foundation dean and Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame Australia, and deputy vice-chancellor (strategy and planning) at Curtin University of Technology in Western Australia. He also served as executive director of the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy. Craven has published numerous books and articles, mainly in the field of constitutional law and constitutional history. He is a regular columnist for ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' newspaper. Craven has served on a range of public bodies. He chaired the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group and was deputy chair of the COAG Reform Council. He currently is a member of the Commonwealth Higher Education Standards Panel (HESP) and the lead vice-chancellor for Universities Australia on quality and regulation. In February 2019, following the 2018 trial and conviction of Cardinal

George Pell George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . I ...

for child abuse, Craven provided one of 10 positive character references for the purposes of the sentencing hearing. Pell was eventually acquitted and all the convictions quashed by the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

on 7 April 2020. Within the Australian Catholic community, Craven is a member of the National Catholic Education Commission and the

Truth, Justice and Healing Council The Truth, Justice and Healing Council was established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference as a national co-ordinating body to oversee the church's engagement with the 2015-17 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual ...

Bibliography

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Degrees and honours

*Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of Melbourne (1980) *Bachelor of Laws (LLB), University of Melbourne (1981) *Master of Laws (LLM), University of Melbourne (1984), *Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great (GCSG) (2015), *Officer of Order of Australia (AO) 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craven, Greg 1958 births Living people 20th-century Australian lawyers Australian republicans Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal People educated at St Kevin's College, Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni Australian Catholic University faculty Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great