Carolyn Evans
Title5th Vice Chancellor and President of the
Griffith University
Term start2019
Term end22 April 2026
PredecessorProfessor Ian O'Connor AC
Birth date1970 (age 56–57)
Birth nameCarolyn Maree Evans
Birth placeMelbourne, Australia
ProfessionUniversity Vice Chancellor
Carolyn Evans
Main interestsLaw, human rights, and religious freedoms
WorkplacesMelbourne Law School
University of Melbourne
Griffith University
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
University of Oxford
SpouseStephen Donaghue

Carolyn Maree Evans (born 1970 in Melbourne[1]) is an Australian academic administrator. She is currently the vice-chancellor of University of Melbourne in Australia.

Academic career

Following the completion of her doctorate in 1999, Evans was appointed a stipendiary lecturer in law at Exeter College, Oxford.[2] After the two year post ended, she returned to Australia where she joined the academic staff of Melbourne Law School.[2]

Evans has held several senior academic positions including Dean and Harrison Moore Professor of Law at the University of Melbourne Law School and deputy vice-chancellor and deputy provost at the University of Melbourne.[3]

In February 2019, Evans was appointed vice-chancellor and president of Griffith University, becoming the first woman to hold that position.[4][5][6]

She became President of the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association in 2021[7] and chaired the Innovative Research Universities (IRU) from 2021 to 2022.[8] She was a board member of Open Universities Australia from 2019 to 2023, and is currently a board member of Universities Australia.[9][10]

Evans is a director of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA),[11] and has been chair of the State Advisory Committee since 2023.

In April 2026 The University of Melbourne announced the appointment of Evans as their 22nd Vice-Chancellor, commencing in October 2026.[12]

Honours

Evans was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia in 2019[13][14] and names an Honorary Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford in 2023.[15]

Publications

Books

  • "Freedom of Religion under the European Convention on Human Rights" Oxford University Press (April 19, 2001)[16][17]
  • "Legal Protection of Religious Freedom in Australia" (Federation Press, 2012).[18]

Co-author

  • "Australian Bills of Rights: The Law of the Victorian Charter and the ACT Human Rights Act" (LexisNexis, 2008)
  • "Open Minds: Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech in Australia" (Black Inc., 2021).[19]

Personal life

Evans is married to Stephen Donaghue, a judge in the Court of Appeal in Victoria and previously the Australian Solicitor-General, and has two children.[20][21]

Evans was born in Melbourne in 1970 and grew up in Greensborough, Victoria. Her father, Terry, was a printer, and her mother, Tess, was a primary school teacher and later a novelist. She has two younger brothers, Tim and Julian."Evans, Carolyn". The Australian Women's Register. Retrieved 25 May 2026.

References

  1. ^ "Evans, Carolyn". The Australian Women's Register. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  2. ^ "Alumni Today: Carolyn Evans". Faculty of Law. University of Oxford. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  3. ^ Kevey, Donna (23 February 2022). "Professor Carolyn Evans appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor". The University of Melbourne
  4. ^ Kevey, Donna (23 February 2022). "University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor to lead Griffith University". The University of Melbourne
  5. ^ "New vice-chancellor hopes to build on Griffith's strengths". The Australian.
  6. ^ "Professor Carolyn Evans BALLB ( Hons ) (Melb), DPhil (Oxon) FASSA". www.griffith.edu.au. Griffith University. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  7. ^ https://aheia.edu.au/about-aheia/meet-the-team/
  8. ^ "Carolyn Evans appointed new chair of IRU group". Innovative Research Universities
  9. ^ "Board". Universities Australia
  10. ^ "Universities Australia Chair and Board members confirmed". Mirage News
  11. ^ "BOARD OF DIRECTORS". CEDA
  12. ^ "University of Melbourne appoints Professor Carolyn Evans as Vice-Chancellor". University of Melbourne Newsroom. 2026-04-23. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  13. ^ "New Fellows 2019". Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
  14. ^ Dobson, Ben (11 November 2019). "Pair of Griffith academics elected as Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences" (in en-EN). Griffith University
  15. ^ "Exeter College elects ten new Honorary Fellows". Exeter College. 30 June 2023.
  16. ^ Sanderson, M. A. (2002). "Review of Freedom of Religion under the European Convention on Human Rights". The Modern Law Review. 65 (1): 141–143. ISSN 0026-7961. JSTOR 1097523
  17. ^ Emberland, M. (1 September 2001). "Review: Freedom of Religion Under the European Convention on Human Rights * Carolyn Evans: Freedom of Religion Under the European Convention on Human Rights". European Journal of International Law. 12 (4): 798–801. doi:10.1093/ejil/12.4.798
  18. ^ Loong, Stella (2013). "Legal protection of religious freedom in Australia legal protection of religious freedom in Australia [Book Review]". Ethos. 229: 36.
  19. ^ "Book review: Open Minds explores how academic freedom and the public university are at risk". The Conversation. 10 March 2021.
  20. ^ Ackland, Richard (3 January 2017). "The highs and lows of lawyers and the law in Australia". The Guardian
  21. ^ "Judicial appointment - Stephen Paul Donaghue KC". The Supreme Court of Victoria. Retrieved 2026-04-23.