Provost
Professor Don Nutbeam
Provost and Deputy Vice Chancellor
Professor Nutbeam was appointed as the first Academic Provost of the University of Sydney in April 2006.
Professor Nutbeam's career has spanned positions in government, health services, universities and independent research centres. For the period 2000 – 2003, Professor Nutbeam was Head of Public Health in the UK Department of Health. In this role he was responsible for leading policy development within the Health Department and across government on a range of major public health challenges. These included a cross-government program to address health inequalities; policy and national programs on the prevention of heart disease and cancer; and prevention and treatment of drug and alcohol misuse, and HIV/AIDS. He was also responsible for the development of the public health workforce, and public health research and information strategies.
Professor Nutbeam has substantial international experience in both developing and developed countries. He has worked as an advisor and consultant for the World Health Organisation over a 20 year period, and as consultant and team leader in projects for the World Bank. In his role as Head of Public Health for the UK Department of Health, Professor Nutbeam represented UK Public Health interests in the European Union, and in bi-lateral agreements with the USA.
Prior to being appointed as Provost, Professor Nutbeam was the University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Health Sciences) from September 2003. In this position, he was Head of the College of Health Sciences, comprising the Faculties of Medicine, Health Sciences, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy. He was also Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) from October 2005 until taking up his current appointment.
Between 1990 and 2000, Professor Nutbeam was Professor of Public Health, Associate Dean of Medicine and Head of the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney.
Before coming to Australia, he was a co-founder and Research Director of an independent research centre - the Welsh Heart Program (1985-90) and Director of Research and Policy Development for a UK government agency - the Health Promotion Authority for Wales (1988-90). The early part of his career was spent in public health positions at local and regional level in the British NHS.
Professor Nutbeam’s research interests include studies of health literacy, adolescent health behaviour, and public health intervention research in schools and communities. More recently, he has examined the transfer of research into policy. He is author of more than 100 scientific papers and book chapters, and two popular public health text books.
Professor Nutbeam was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, UK, in September 2008. He will take up this role in August 2009.
