Mark Walter Scott (born 9 October 1962) is a public servant and university administrator who serves as the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of 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 six ...

. He was the

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 2006 to 2016. Prior to commencing at the ABC, Scott had previously held a senior role at

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The Sydney Morning Herald' ...

, responsible for the editorial content of the group's major newspapers including ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'', ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'', ''

The Sun-Herald ''The Sun-Herald'' is an Australian newspaper published in tabloid or compact format on Sundays in Sydney by Nine Publishing. It is the Sunday counterpart of ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. In the 6 months to September 2005, ''The Sun-Herald' ...

'' and ''

The Sunday Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

''. In June 2016, Scott was appointed Secretary of the New South Wales

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. In March 2021, Scott was announced as being appointed the 27th

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 and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

of the

, commencing in July 2021.

Career and background

Scott was born in 1962 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He holds dual Australian and United States citizenship. Educated at

Knox Grammar School , motto_translation = The Manly Thing Is Being Done , established = , founder = John Gilmore, William McIlrath, Robert Gillespie and Andrew Reid , type = Independent, day & boarding ...

, Scott worked for the

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 , e ...

Greiner

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...

government, as chief of staff to the Education Minister, Virginia Chadwick, and as a senior adviser to education minister, Terry Metherell. In 2010, he was appointed to a second five-year term as the ABC's managing director. His time at the ABC was marked by extensive change, including the creation of

ABC Me ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3. Hi ...

, a digital TV channel for children, and the 24-hour news channel

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast '' ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show ''Good Morning America'', ''Ni ...

, as well as a major expansion into digital and on-line technology and an expansion of quality drama. Scott has been a strong defender of the value of social media in journalism and skeptical on the capacity of news organisations to charge for content they have previously provided free of charge. In September 2015, Scott announced he would be retiring as managing director and would be leaving the ABC. In December 2015,

Michelle Guthrie Michelle Guthrie (born 1965) is an Australian business executive and lawyer. Guthrie was born in Sydney in 1965, was educated at Brigidine College Randwick and Kambala Girls' School, and studied arts and law at the University of Sydney. She jo ...

was announced as Scott's replacement, and took over the role on 2 May 2016. In June 2016, Scott was appointed secretary of the New South Wales

. He was responsible for more than 2000 schools and around 49,000 teachers in the state. Scott is the author of ''On Us'', one of a series of short books produced by Melbourne University Press. He writes it may be time to

Marie Kondo , also known as , is a Japanese organizing consultant, author, and TV presenter. Kondo has written four books on organizing, which have collectively sold millions of copies around the world. Her books have been translated from Japanese into s ...

our digital lives. “So much on my screens isn’t sparking much joy...there’s just too much and it doesn’t energise me...often, when we stare at our screens, we know we are not our best selves.”

Cuts to the ABC

In November 2014, as Managing Director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Scott announced that after 55 years, the Collinswood ABC television studios in South Australia would be closed. The announcement, following the 2011 demolition of the ABC TV facility in Perth and the 2012 closure of Tasmania's TV production unit also revealed the end of state based current affairs show '' 7.30 Report'' (state editions) - formally Stateline. Responding to 2014 Liberal Government budget cuts of $254 million over 5 years, Mark Scott axed

ABC Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors an ...

program '' Bush Telegraph'' and five regional radio outposts. In a senate inquiry about the cuts, Scott rejected claims that ABC management was using the Abbott Government's cuts as an excuse to pursue unpopular cost-saving initiatives.

Awards and honours

On 13 June 2011, Scott was named an

Officer 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 ...

for distinguished service to media and communications, and to the community through advisory and governance roles with a range of social justice and educational bodies.

Personal life

Scott is married to Briony Scott, the principal of Wenona School, a private day and boarding school for girls. He is a grandson of Sir Walter Scott AC who was responsible for the introduction of

decimal currency Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10. Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decima ...

in Australia. His father Brian reviewed the NSW Department of Education in the 1980s. Scott holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Diploma of Education and a Master of Arts from the

; and a Master of Public Administration from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Mark 1962 births Living people Australian public servants Managing directors of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Australian journalists Officers of the Order of Australia Harvard Kennedy School alumni University of Sydney alumni People educated at Knox Grammar School