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The Go8 Board
The Go8 Board, which consists of the vice-chancellors (presidents) of its eight member universities, meets five times a year. The Chair of the Board rotates among member universities. The Chair of the Board is Professor Margaret Gardner AC, Vice-Chancellor, Monash University.
Professor Margaret Gardner AC
Chair of the Group of Eight Board | Monash University
Professor Margaret Gardner became President and Vice-Chancellor of Monash University on September 1, 2014. Prior to joining Monash, Professor Gardner was Vice-Chancellor and President of RMIT from April 2005 until August 2014. Professor Gardner was Chair of Universities Australia from 2017 to 2019 and a Director of the Group of Eight Universities. She is also a Director of Infrastructure Victoria, the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) and a member of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Inclusion and Diversity Committee. Professor Gardner was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in recognition of service to tertiary education.
Professor Brian Schmidt AC
Deputy Chair of the Group of Eight Board | Australian National University
Professor Brian P. Schmidt was appointed Vice-Chancellor and President of The Australian National University (ANU) in January 2016. Professor Schmidt is the 12th Vice-Chancellor of The Australian National University (ANU). Winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, Professor Schmidt was an astrophysicist at the ANU Mount Stromlo Observatory and Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics before becoming Vice-Chancellor.
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Professor Attila Brungs
Professor Brungs commenced his appointment on 31 January 2022, joining UNSW from his position as Vice-Chancellor and President of University of Technology Sydney (UTS) (2014 – 2021). He was Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Research), UTS (2009 – 2014). In November 2021, Professor Brungs was appointed Emeritus Professor and Emeritus Vice-Chancellor, UTS.
He is a distinguished academic and higher education leader with extensive experience in the government and corporate sectors. He has held senior roles with CSIRO and McKinsey & Company, and leadership roles and appointments including Chair of the Australian Technology Network of Universities, the NSW Vice-Chancellors’ Committee; and member of the Universities Australia Board, the Federal Government Sustainability Research Committee, the Committee for Sydney Board, the NSW Innovation and Productivity Council, and the Federal Government’s National University Precincts Advisory Committee.
Professor Deborah Terry AO
The University of Queensland
Professor Deborah Terry AO is Vice-Chancellor and President of The University of Queensland (UQ). Prior to commencing this role in August 2020, she served as Vice-Chancellor of Curtin University in Western Australia (from February 2014 to July 2020).
Professor Terry was made an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) in June 2015, in recognition of her distinguished service to education in the tertiary sector.
She is a Fellow and past President of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia; an appointed member of the Australian Research Council Advisory Council; and serves on the Australia and New Zealand School of Government Board and Australia’s Academic and Research Network Board.
Professor Mark Scott AO
The University of Sydney
Professor Mark Scott began his term as the University of Sydney’s 27th Vice-Chancellor and Principal on 19 July 2021. He is a highly respected and successful senior leader of large and complex institutions, across public service, education and the media. His notable roles include Secretary of the NSW Department of Education (2016 to 2021), Managing Director of the ABC (2006 to 2016) and Editor-in-Chief of Fairfax newspapers.
Professor Scott began his career as a teacher in Sydney and held senior policy and leadership positions with two NSW education ministers – Terry Metherell and Virginia Chadwick. In 2011 he was named an Officer of the Order of Australia. He holds an Honorary Doctorate (Letters) and a Professor of Practice (Education and Media) from the University of Sydney and a Master of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of NSW and University of Technology Sydney.
Professor Duncan Maskell
The University of Melbourne
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne since October 2018, Professor Duncan Maskell was previously Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Cambridge. He is a Cambridge graduate and research specialist in infectious diseases, and an active entrepreneur. His career includes the University of Oxford, Imperial College London, and Wellcome Biotech.
Professor Amit Chakma
The University of Western Australia
Professor Amit Chakma is the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Western Australia. He has served as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Ontario from 2009-2019. Prior to his tenure at Western, he served as Provost and Vice-President Academic at the University of Waterloo from 2001-2009.
In addition to his university leadership roles, Professor Chakma has served as Chair of the Council of the Association of Commonwealth Universities from 2017-2019. He was the Acting Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Asian University for Women from 2013-2015. He chaired Canada’s Advisory Panel on International Education Strategy from 2011-2013.
Professor Peter Høj AC
The University of Adelaide
Professor Peter Høj AC has over 20 years’ senior leadership experience in higher education and research and is the current Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Adelaide.
He was educated at the University of Copenhagen, majoring in biochemistry and chemistry, and has a Master of Science degree in biochemistry and genetics, a PhD in photosynthesis, an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Copenhagen.
A member of the Australian Government’s University Foreign Interference Taskforce, Professor Høj was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2019 for “eminent service to higher education and to science, particularly to the commercialisation of research, and to policy development and reform”.
Professor Høj is a Fellow of Academies in Australia, the USA and Denmark, and has been awarded honorary doctorates from institutions including the University of Adelaide, University of South Australia, and University of Copenhagen.
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Vicki Thomson
Ms Vicki Thomson is the Chief Executive of the Group of Eight (Go8) – Australia’s eight leading research-intensive universities – taking up the role in January 2015.
Ms Thomson’s diverse background covers print and electronic journalism, politics, issues management and the higher education sector. She has an extensive media, political and policy background and was Chief of Staff to a South Australian Premier.
She is a Board member of the European Australian Business Council and is a member of the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan Reference Group.
She is a former Board member of the Australia-China Council. She is also a member of MS Research Australia’s Leadership Council, a small national group of people intended to help keep MS Research Australia’s strategy contemporary and relevant. This passion is driven by her own personal experience of having a sister with the debilitating disease.