Name John Hay | ||
John Anthony Hay, AC (21 September 1942 – 3 November 2016) was an Australian academic. He was Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University and the University of Queensland from 1996 to 2007.
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Early life
Hay was born on 21 September 1942 in Western Australia. He attended Perth Modern School.
Education
Hay studied at the University of Western Australia and then at Cambridge University where he was a Hackett Research Scholar. He was awarded a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D., all in English literature.
Academic positions
Hay held the following academic appointments:
Career highlights
In 1995, during his term as vice-chancellor at Deakin University, the university was named Australia's University of the Year by the Good Universities Guide.
In March 1998, during his term as vice-chancellor at the University of Queensland, Hay met with American businessman and philanthropist Chuck Feeney at the Irish Club in Brisbane to discuss fund raising for the university's research. Hay made an arrangement with the Queensland Premier, Rob Borbidge, that the Queensland Government would match the gift offered by Feeney to create a major biosciences precinct at the university. Although there was a change of government in Queensland in the June 1998 election, the new Premier, Peter Beattie, was also enthusiastic to support Hay's plans for the university as part of Beattie's Smart State initiative. With the support of Feeney and Beattie, Hay established the Institute for Molecular Biology, the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, the Queensland Brain Institute, the Centre for Clinical Research, and the Translational Research Institute. He also established sustainable mining and supercomputing research facilities.
During his tenure at the University of Queensland, he led initiatives to improve the aesthetics of the university campus with many of the new buildings receiving architectural awards. He established the UQ Centre, a multifunctional building which can be used for a wide range of academic, cultural and sporting events, such as graduation ceremonies, exhibitions, conferences and banquets. As Mayne Hall was then no longer needed for graduations, Hay used funding from Feeney's Atlantic Philanthropies, to refurbish Mayne Hall as the James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre Art Gallery, Australia's first national collection of artists' self-portraits.
In 1999, The University of Queensland was named Australia's University of the Year by the Good Universities Guide. Under Hay's leadership, The University of Queensland advanced to second position in Australia for total competitive research funding.
Later life
Hay retired from the University of Queensland in December 2007. He died on 3 November 2016 in Melbourne, Victoria.