Rufus Edward Ries Black (born 20 May 1969) is 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 ...

of the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

Early life and education

Black was educated at Wesley College and 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 ...

, where he resided at

Ormond College Ormond College is the largest of the residential colleges of the University of Melbourne located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is home to around 350 undergraduates, 90 graduates and 35 professorial and academic residents. Hi ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in politics and economics and a

Bachelor of Laws 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 ...

with honours in 1994. He won a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

in 1992, and obtained a Diploma of Theology and

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

in Ethics and Theology in 1994 from

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

. He was awarded a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in Ethics and Theology from

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

in 1996. His DPhil thesis was entitled "Towards an Ecumenical Ethic: Reconciling the Work of Stanley Hauerwas, Germain Grisez and Oliver O'Donovan".

Career

Black has been vice-chancellor and president of the

since March 2018. Black began his academic career at Oxford University as a tutor from 1994 to 1996. From 1997 to 1999, he served as chaplain of

and the Sanderson Fellow at the

United Faculty of Theology The United Faculty of Theology (UFT) was a recognised teaching institution of the University of Divinity in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1969 as an informal association of theological colleges and ceased operating in December 2014. The U ...

, where he lectured in ethics. He has combined an academic career with experience in public policy and consulting at

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

, where he worked for nine years as a consultant from 2000 to 2006 and later as a partner from 2007 to 2008. Black was involved across the education sector as master of Ormond from 2009 to 2017, deputy chancellor of Victoria University from 2013 to 2017 and the founding chair of the board for Teach for Australia from 2009 to 2017. He was a director of the New York-based Teach for All from 2010 to 2015. He was a director of the law firm

Corrs Chambers Westgarth Founded in 1841, Corrs Chambers Westgarth (often referred to as ''Corrs'') is a leading, independent Australian commercial law firm. Its clients include national and international corporations, governments, banks and financial sponsors. The firm ...

, the

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute WEHI (), previously known as the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, and as the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, is Australia's oldest medical research research institute, institute. Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, who won the Nobe ...

, Museums Victoria and Innovation Science Australia. Black co-founded the Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship. Before joining the University of Tasmania he was the Professor of Enterprise in the Department of Management and Marketing, principal fellow in the Department of Philosophy and a member of the programs team at the Centre for Ethical Leadership at the

Public policy work

Black's public policy work has included leading the budget audit of the Department of Defence in 2009, the accountability and governance review of the Department of Defence ("The Black Review") in 2010 and the prime minister's independent review of the Australian Intelligence Community in 2011."Prime Minister’s Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community in 2011"
/ref> He was the strategic advisor to the secretary for education in Victoria from 2012 to 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Rufus University of Melbourne alumni Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Living people University of Melbourne faculty Australian Rhodes Scholars WEHI staff McKinsey & Company people Victoria University, Melbourne faculty 1969 births