Nationality Australian Name Hugh Mackay | Role Reporter | |
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Full Name Hugh Clifford Mackay Alma mater University of SydneyMacquarie University Known for The Ipsos Mackay Report Books Why don't people listen?, Winter close, The spin Education |
Hugh Clifford Mackay (born 1938) AO is the founder of the Australian quarterly research series The Ipsos Mackay Report (previously The Mackay Report). He is a psychologist, sociologist, social researcher, writer and former teacher. He is a regular columnist in The Age and a regularly appearing commentator on radio and television.
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Career

He is a graduate of Sydney Grammar School, and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney and a Master of Arts from Macquarie University. He is one of the founders of the St James Ethics Centre.
Mackay currently holds a number of academic positions, including Adjunct Professor of the Faculty of Arts of Charles Sturt University and Professor of Social Science at the University of Wollongong. He has previously held positions at the Australian National University, Macquarie Graduate School of Management and the University of Melbourne.
He is Patron of the Asylum Seekers' Centre and member of the Bell Shakespeare Artistic Advisory Panel. He was the inaugural chairman of the ACT Government's Community Inclusion Board, and has previously held board positions with Charles Sturt University, Sydney Grammar School, The St James Ethics Centre, the Australia Council, the Law Society of New South Wales, the Sydney Peace Prize Advisory Committee, and the National Heart Foundation.
Mackay is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and the Market and Social Research Society of Australia, and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society.
Honours and awards
He holds honorary doctorates in letters from Charles Sturt University, Macquarie University, the University of New South Wales and the University of Western Sydney, as well as the Hartnett Medal from the Royal Society of Arts, and the Alumni Award for Community Service from the University of Sydney.
At the 2015 Australia Day Honours, Mackay was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the community in the areas of social research and psychology, as an author and commentator, and through roles with visual and performing arts and educational organisations.