President's Panel
In this session, you will have the opportunity to hear from a panel of university leaders with experiences in different continents and contexts. The conversation will explore the insights they have gained through their leadership experiences and the opportunities and challenges that they anticipate lie ahead for the educational sector.
Experience Level: All Levels
Professor John Dewar AO
Professor John Dewar AO has been Vice-Chancellor and President of La Trobe University since January 2012. Professor Dewar is an internationally-known family law researcher. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford and taught at the Universities of Lancaster and Warwick. Professor Dewar held leadership positions at Griffith University and the University of Melbourne before joining La Trobe. He is Chair of Universities Australia and holds a number of directorships and honorary appointments. In 2020 Professor Dewar was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his distinguished service to education, and to professional organisations.
Dr. Arshad Ahmad
Dr. Arshad Ahmad became Vice Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in 2018. He earned his PhD in educational psychology at McGill University and was professor of finance at Concordia University for over 20 years. In 2014, he was appointed vice-provost of teaching and learning and director of the MacPherson Institute at McMaster University. He also held academic leadership positions as chair of Teaching and Learning Canada, president of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, and vice-president of the International Consortium of Educational Developers. In 1992, he was awarded the 3M National Teaching Fellowship - Canada’s most prestigious recognition of excellence in educational leadership and teaching at the post-secondary level. He has been named International Educator of the Year, 2022 by the Academy of International Business.
Professor Cheryl de la Rey
Professor Cheryl de la Rey is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canterbury since 2019. Prior to her current position Cheryl held a number of leadership positions in tertiary education in South Africa including being Chief Executive of the Council of Higher Education and Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria for just under a decade. She has served on several boards and is currently the Chairperson of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and Universities New Zealand (UNZ). She is also a board member of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). Her field of academic specialisation is Social Psychology and she has published widely in the broad area of intergroup relations with a specific focus on gender.
Sue Cunningham
Sue Cunningham is President and CEO of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), which supports over 3,000 schools, colleges and universities worldwide in developing their integrated advancement work (alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing operations). As CASE President and CEO, Ms. Cunningham provides strategic and operational leadership for one of the largest associations of education-related institutions in the world with members in over 80 countries. She started her leadership role at CASE in March 2015.
While at CASE, Ms. Cunningham has engaged CASE in two strategic planning processes. The first, which engaged thousands of CASE volunteers, resulted in Reimagining CASE: 2017-2021, and created an ambitious framework for serving CASE’s members and championing education worldwide, which included a comprehensive restructure of CASE’s volunteer leadership and governance structure. Building on the strengths of this plan, she led a recalibration exercise that resulted in Championing Advancement: CASE 2022-2027. This Plan articulates a clear strategic intent: that CASE will define the competencies and standards for the profession of advancement, and lead and champion their dissemination and application across the world’s educational institutions.
Among the key initiatives that have developed under her leadership include the redesign and delivery of a new global governance structure. In addition, CASE acquired the Voluntary Support of Education survey and created CASE’s Insights, CASE’s global research and data efforts. CASE published the first global and digital edition of CASE’s Global Reporting Standards and Guidelines, which operate as the industry-leading Standards for the profession, and launched the first global Alumni Engagement survey in addition to annual fundraising surveys. CASE created an ambitious competencies model across all advancement disciplines and a related career journey framework; opened the CASE Opportunities and Inclusion Center which focuses on equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging; and has reinvigorated a global advocacy agenda to communicate the value of education. Ms. Cunningham serves as a Trustee and Secretary for the University of San Diego, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board. She is a member of the Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia) Board of Directors, Chairs their Governance Committee, and sits on the Executive Committee. She is a member of the Washington Higher Education Secretariat steering committee, the International Association of University Presidents Executive Committee, and the International Women’s Forum. She has recently been named to the new, US-based Council of Higher Education as a Strategic Asset. She is the author of ‘Global Exchange: Dialogues to Advance Education’.
Prior to her appointment to CASE, Ms. Cunningham served as Vice-Principal for Advancement at the University of Melbourne where she led the Believe campaign resulting in surpassing its original $500 million goal; and the Director of Development for the University of Oxford where she led the development team through the first phase of the largest fundraising campaign outside of the United States (at the time): Oxford Thinking, with a goal of £1.25 billion. She served as Director of Development at Christ Church, Oxford and as Director of External Relations at St. Andrews University.
Before working in education, Ms. Cunningham enjoyed a career in theatre, the arts and the cultural sector. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 2012, Ms. Cunningham received the CASE Europe Distinguished Service Award, and has received the coveted CASE Crystal Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Ms. Cunningham was awarded a master’s degree from the University of Oxford, a bachelor’s degree in performing arts from Middlesex University, and is a graduate of the Columbia University Senior Executive Program.