John Dewar (academic)

Career before Griffith University

Dewar is an internationally known family law specialist. He was a member of the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Family Law Pathways Advisory Group from 2000 to 2001 and a former member and chair of the Family Law Council from 1998 to 2004.

Before working at Griffith University, Dewar taught at the universities of Lancaster and Warwick in the United Kingdom and was a fellow and tutor in law at Hertford College, Oxford. He was Head of Education and Training for Allen & Overy (London) from 1988-90

Griffith University

Dewar moved from the United Kingdom in 1995 to take up a professorial position in the Griffith Law School, where he eventually became the Dean of the Griffith Law School from 1999 to 2002. From 2002 to 2005, he was the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Business and Law and then became deputy vice-chancellor (academic).

University of Melbourne

Dewar moved to the University of Melbourne in April 2009, becoming the deputy vice-chancellor (global relations). In September that year, he was appointed Provost of the University of Melbourne, a role similar to his previous one at Griffith University. The role's focus was "on refining the Melbourne Model and ensuring successful second phase implementation of the University’s graduate programs in 2011".

La Trobe University

John Dewar became the sixth Vice-Chancellor of La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia in January 2012. On arrival, he declared that his goal was to ensure that La Trobe be "recognised as the natural alternative to Victoria’s two Group of Eight universities, with a unique appeal other universities can’t offer."In 2014, he announced 350 staff would be sacked without any voluntary redundancies.