The Vice Chancellor and President is the Chief Executive Officer of the University and is responsible to the Council of the University

As Vice Chancellor, Professor Carolyn Evans is responsible for:

  • articulating a clear strategic direction for the University
  • providing academic and administrative leadership
  • maintaining a focus on quality
  • engendering a collegial community amongst staff and students
  • fostering effective relationships with stakeholders
  • ensuring sound financial management and stewardship of resources.

The Vice Chancellor also has a number of statutory responsibilities and accountabilities outlined in the Griffith University Act 1998 and other relevant state and commonwealth legislation and is involved in the following associations.

Professor Carolyn Evans commenced her appointment as Vice Chancellor and President of Griffith University in February 2019, leading one of Australia's fastest-growing and most progressive tertiary institutions, ranked in the top 2% of universities worldwide. In 2019, Professor Evans was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and became a member of the organisation, Chief Executive Women. She is President of the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association, was Chair of the Innovative Research Universities from 2021-2022, former Board Member of Open Universities Australia from 2019-2023, and current Board Member of Universities Australia and the Australian-American Fulbright Commission and Chair of the State Advisory Board for the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.

Professor Carolyn Evans

Find out more about Professor Evans

Honouring remarkable griffith people

We honour remarkable people for success in their respective fields

Strategic directions

The Strategic Plan provides the blueprint for this University's development through to our 50th anniversary in 2025, and beyond.  It reflects our intent to be more confident in the expression of our strong values, to be more distinctive from our competitors, to be more ambitious in our aspirations for the future, and to be a university renowned for its commitment to excellence, ethical behaviour and engagement.

  • Strategic plans for the core businesses of the University are available through the Plans and publications page.
  • Operational and implementation plans and reports are available to Griffith users only via the Staff portal.

Former vice chancellors

Griffith owes much of its success to the outstanding leadership of its former Vice Chancellors

Contact the Office of the Vice Chancellor

The Chancellery, Gold Coast Campus

Office of the Vice Chancellor

Leneen Forde Chancellery (G34)

Griffith University

Gold Coast campus

Southport Qld 4222

+61 7 5552 8830

Getting to GC campus

GC campus map

The Bray Centre, Nathan Campus

Office of the Vice Chancellor

Bray Centre (N54)

Griffith University

170 Kessels Road

Nathan Qld 4111

+61 7 3735 5518

Getting to NA campus

NA campus map

Contact us

Contact the Office of the Vice Chancellor