Dr Donald Markwell appointed new head of St Paul’s College
The decision follows the resignation of the previous Warden, Reverend Dr Ivan Head, earlier this year.
The new head of St Paul's College, Dr Donald Markwell.
St Paul’s College has appointed a new Head of College following the resignation of the previous Warden, Reverend Dr Ivan Head, earlier this year.
Dr Donald Markwell, who has previously worked in colleges in Oxford and Australia, will commence the role in February 2018.
Since 2013, Dr Markwell has served as a senior advisor on higher education to the Federal Minister for Education, the Attorney-General and the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
He is also the former global head of the Rhodes Scholarships and was the first Rhodes Scholar to be the Warden of Rhodes House in Oxford.
“Almost all of the world’s greatest universities are collegiate, or at least residential, universities”, said Dr Markwell.
“I am committed to St Paul’s College being a centre of excellence, not a bastion of privilege.”
The St Paul’s College Act, which dates back to 1854, requires that the Warden be an ordained Anglican clergyman. The Act will soon be amended to remove this requirement, and then Markwell will be formally appointed Warden. Until then, he will serve as Vice-Warden and Head of College.
Reverend Ivan Head, who has served as Warden since 1994, announced his retirement in June this year following ongoing media scandals surrounding alleged sexism at St Paul’s College.
His resignation came just days after he came under fire for his response to a leaked Facebook post by a Paul’s student calling women “harpooned whales” in which his primary concern was the effect that this sort of behavior may have on student’s CVs.
The appointment coincides with the recent announcement that St John’s College will reform its 160-year-old founding document, following a crisis that stemmed from a hazing incident in which a group of students coerced a first year into drinking a toxic cocktail of alcohol and household goods.