Stephen John Parker AO is a legal academic and practitioner who was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra 2007-2016. He was made an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2014 for services to tertiary education.

Education

Professor Parker was born in the north of England. He graduated from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne with a Bachelor of Laws. He went on to obtain a PhD from the University of Wales.

Law

He practised law in the UK before moving to Australia in 1988. Professor Parker is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, Barrister-at-Law of the

Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to he ...

and Solicitor of the

Supreme Court of England and Wales The courts of England and Wales, supported administratively by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales. The United Kingdom does not have a ...

Academic life

He first worked as an academic at University College, Cardiff. Between 1988 and 1994, he was Senior Lecturer and Reader in law at the Australian National University. He was then Professor of Law at Griffith University. In 1999, he was appointed Dean of Monash University Law School, a position he held until 2003. He then became Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Monash University. He was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra in 2007 and was profiled o
ABC Radio
due to his opposition in 2014-15 to proposals to deregulate higher education fees in Australia. In September 2015, Parker announced that he would retire from the University of Canberra in July 2016, having served nine years (two terms) in the position. University of Canberra vice-chancellor Professor Stephen Parker announces resignation
ABC News Online, 15 September 2015 He is currently an Honorary Professorial Fellow at th
Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education
University of Melbourne.

Podcast and Publications

With Emeritus Professor Stephen Bottomley, he co-hosts a podcast series
Law in Context
designed as a critical introduction to law for the general public and intending student. His books include the first and second editions of ''Law in Context'', ''Informal Marriage, Cohabitation and the Law 1750-1989'', ''Courts and the Public'', the first and second editions of ''Australian Family Law in Context,'' ''Negotiating By The Light of the Law'', three editions of ''Cohabitees'', and ''Cohabitants''. He has written numerous articles and chapters on higher education, legal philosophy, contract law, family law, judges and lawyers, including "Rebuilding a sustainable and fair tertiary education system for Australia" "Rights and Utility in Anglo-Australian Family Law", "Rule Following, Rule Scepticism and Indeterminacy in Law", and "Judicial Independence" in ''The Australian Federal Judicial System.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Stephen John Academic staff of the University of Canberra British expatriate academics British legal scholars Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Officers of the Order of Australia Alumni of Newcastle University Alumni of the University of Wales Academic staff of Monash University Australian barristers British barristers Academics of Cardiff University Academic staff of the Australian National University Academic staff of Griffith University