Name Louise Adler | Spouse Max Gillies (m. 1981) | |
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Education Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne | ||
Louise Adler AM (born 3 March 1954 in Melbourne) is a prominent figure in Australian publishing.
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Early life
Louise Adler was born in Melbourne to Jacques and Ruth Adler, Jewish immigrants from Paris, France who arrived in Australia in 1949. Jacques joined the French Resistance in World War II after his own father, Simon Adlersztejn, was rounded up and deported to Beaune-la-Rolande, eventually dying at Auschwitz. Ruth was taken to France as a seven-year-old by her parents fleeing from Nazi Germany, but her extended family all perished in the Holocaust. In Melbourne, Ruth worked as a schoolteacher, and Jacques was a research fellow in the history department of the University of Melbourne.
Louise Adler attended Elwood Primary School, the Elsternwick campus of Methodist Ladies' College, and finally Mount Scopus Memorial College.
Career
Adler graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from University of Reading, and a Master of Arts and Master of Philosophy from Columbia University, studying under Edward Said. From 1988 to 1989 she was editor of Australian Book Review. She has also worked as the Publisher at Reed Books, Arts and Entertainment Editor for The Age, Deputy Director (Academic & Research) at the Victorian College of the Arts and CEO and Publisher of Melbourne University Publishing.
Adler has also served on several boards, including as a member of the Monash University council, director on the Melbourne International Arts Festival board and director on the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art board. She is Chairperson of the board of Methodist Ladies' College in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne.
MLC Kew Controversy
In 2012, the MLC board, that Adler chaired, controversially terminated the employment of then principal of the college, Rosa Storelli. The sacking was not received well by many students, parents and old collegians and most of the board was replace by 2017. Source [6] below and new [8] The Age newspaper 19 Sep 12 "MLC principal in shock after sacking over money".
Personal
She has been married to the actor and comedian Max Gillies since 1981, and they have two adult children.
Honours
In 2008 she was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to literature.