New Dean for ANZSOG to expand collaborative research
Ken Smith will lead ANZSOG, which specialises in the Australian and New Zealand parliamentary and public service systems.
A senior ANU academic in the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) says its incoming Dean will boost the School’s collaborative research between governments and academia in Australasia and beyond.
Professor John Wanna, the School’s Sir John Bunting Chair of Public Administration, warmly welcomes Ken Smith, who will become the ANZSOG Dean and Chief Executive Officer from May 2017.
“One of the key initiatives of the Australian Government when establishing ANZSOG was its agreement to fund, with matching support from the ANU, the Sir John Bunting Chair to facilitate and enhance engagement with the Commonwealth Government,” Professor Wanna says.
“I was the inaugural appointment to the Chair and have led an extensive research and publication program, including supervision of doctoral students, many from professional backgrounds in the federal government.
“With the appointment of Mr Smith, I look forward to the consolidation and expansion of the relationship between ANU and ANZSOG through an expansion of collaborative research between government and academia between our two countries and across the Asia Pacific.”
The ANZSOG funds 15 partners at various universities, with ANU among its largest participants. The Sir John Bunting Chair is based within the ANU School of Politics and International Relations, while ANZSOG’s office is in the Crawford School.
Mr Smith will join ANZSOG from London, where he has been the Queensland Government’s Agent-General and Trade and Investment Commissioner for Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa since 2011. His former roles have included Director General of Queensland’s Department of the Premier and Cabinet.
“I am excited about joining ANZSOG as Dean and CEO and building on the great legacy of my distinguished predecessors, Allan Fels and Gary Banks,” Mr Smith says.
“The public sectors in Australia and New Zealand play a vital role in the life of our two nations.
“The partnership between 10 governments and 15 of our best universities offers a unique platform to systematically address the skill deficits and leadership challenges governments face.”
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