John Dewar

Professor John Dewar was educated at Oxford University in the UK and has lived in Australia for the last 16 years. During this time he has had extensive experience in the higher education sector and held senior positions at both Griffith University and The University of Melbourne before taking up the position of Vice-Chancellor of La Trobe University in January 2012.

Professor Dewar is an internationally known family law specialist. A graduate of the University of Oxford, he taught at the Universities of Lancaster and Warwick from 1981 to 1988, and worked for the London law firm Allen & Overy from 1988-1990. He was appointed Fellow and Tutor in Law of Hertford College Oxford in 1990, a position he held until 1995 while acting as consultant to London law firm Farrer & Co.

In 1995, he moved to Griffith University in South East Queensland where he was successively Dean and Head of School of the Griffith Law School (1999-2002), Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business and Law) (2003-2005) and most recently Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) from 2005 until joining the University of Melbourne in April 2009 where he was Provost until December 2011.