Glyn Davis (yes that one) will join ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy as a distinguished professor. The ANZ School of Government will support the position and Professor Davis “will include teaching senior public service executives from all over the world.”

Dennis McDermott is La Trobe U’s inaugural PVC Indigenous. He joins from Flinders U where he is director of the two Poche Centre’s for Indigenous Health and Wellbeing.

Physicist Tim Bedding is awarded a University of Sydney 2018 Payne Scott professorial distinction. The award honours university leaders and mentors. It is named for radio astronomer and UniSydney graduate Ruby Payne Scott.

University of Canberra honours one of its own with an hon doc to emeritus professor Meredith Edwards. Professor Edwards is a mandarin’s mandarin an economist and public policy researcher of decades standing.

Karen Quinlan is the incoming director of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia. Ms Quinlan is now director of the Bendigo Art Gallery and director and professor of practice at La Trobe U’s art institute.