Paul Smyth (born 1947) is a professor of
social policy
Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies which aim to improve or reform society.
Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize soci ...
in the School of Social and Political Sciences,
Faculty of Arts at the
University of Melbourne.
Education and early career
Smyth initially trained as a
Roman Catholic priest.
Smyth then completed a
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its n ...
in Perth, and a
Doctor of Philosophy at the
University of New South Wales. Smyth was a senior researcher at
Uniya, a
Jesuit
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, founders ...
social research and action centre in Sydney established by
Frank Brennan.
Paul was then Director of Social Policy and Research and Development at the School of Social Work and Social Policy at the
University of Queensland.
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne appointed Smyth a Professorial Fellow of Social Policy in July 2003, with responsibility for overseeing the Master of Social Policy programme.
In a joint-appointment with the
Brotherhood of St Laurence, from 2004 until 2013, Smyth was also the General Manager of the Research and Policy Centre at the Brotherhood in Melbourne.
During this time, Smyth gave the 2007 Foenander Lecture and the 2013 Sambell Oration.
Smyth remains the Course Co-ordinator for the Master of Social Policy at the University.
Other appointments
In May 2008, Smyth was appointed to the
Department of Social Services's
Australian Institute of Family Studies Advisory Council and was reappointed in 2009. Smyth also sat on the advisory board of the
University of South Australia Centre for Work + Life and is a member of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (part of the
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference). Smyth is a member of the
Grattan Institute's Productivity Growth Program Reference Group and is an External Thought Leader to
The Wyatt Trust. Smyth sat on the Editorial Board of the ''British Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies''. Smyth previously sat on the Volunteer Research Agenda Advisory Group at Volunteering Australia.
Jenny Macklin, the Australian
Shadow Minister for Disability Reform, appointed Smyth in 2014 to advise on social policy reform in the
Australian Labor Party.
Publications
Smyth's commentary is featured in publications including the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation's
The Drum,
The Conversation,
Crikey, and
Eureka Street among others.
Selected books
* 2014, ''Social Policy in Australia'', 3rd edition, Smyth, P. & McClelland, A. (eds),
Oxford University Press,
*2013, ''Inclusive Growth in Australia'', Smyth, P & Buchanan, J.,
Allen & Unwin
George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...
,
* 2005, ''Community and local governance in Australia'', Smyth, P. & Reddel, T., Jones, A. (eds),
UNSW Press,
* 2004, ''Social policy and the Commonwealth: prospects for social inclusion'', Smyth, P. & Jones Finer, C (eds), Palgrave Macmillan,
* 1998, ''Contesting the Australian way : states, markets and civil society'', Smyth, P. & Bettina Cass, Cass, B. (eds), Cambridge University Press,
* 1994, Australian Social Policy the Keynesian Chapter, Smyth, P, [UNSW Press],
References
External links
University of Melbourne Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Paul
Living people
1947 births
Murdoch University alumni
University of New South Wales alumni
University of Melbourne faculty