ACU (Australian Catholic University)

Michael Ondaatje is Pro Vice-Chancellor (Arts and Academic Culture), and Professor of History, at Australian Catholic University.

As Pro Vice-Chancellor, Michael is responsible for fostering a strong and defined academic culture throughout the University. This includes creating a new framework for academic collaboration between faculties and research institutes to embed and enhance academic scholarship. Michael is also responsible for leading the University's new liberal arts strategy through the School of Arts, developing a vision and strategic approach that integrates liberal arts at the heart of the University's identity, and enhances ACU's national and international profile in key disciplines.

Awarded his PhD, with Distinction, by the University of Western Australia in 2008, Michael is an award-winning researcher and teacher and a regular commentator on US history and politics in the Australian and international media. He has been a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, and was selected by the US Embassy in Australia for the International Visitor Leadership Program, the premier professional exchange program of the US government. In 2012, the Australian Academy of the Humanities awarded Michael the Max Crawford Medal, Australia's most prestigious award for achievement and promise in the humanities. The Crawford Medal recognises early or mid-career researchers "whose publications make an exceptional contribution to the understanding of humanities disciplines by the general public.

Michael has recently been a member of the ACU University Senate, and previously held appointments at the University of Western Australia and the University of Newcastle.