List of University of Sydney people

This is a list of notable staff, graduates and non-graduate former or current students of the University of Sydney.

Alumni or academic

Government, politics and law

• Royalty –
  • The King of Tonga – Taufa'ahau Tupou IV
  • Princess of Swaziland – Sikhanyiso Dlamini

• Governors-General of Australia –
  • Sir John Kerr
  • Sir William Deane

• Prime Ministers of Australia –
  • Sir Edmund Barton
  • Sir Earle Page
  • Sir William McMahon
  • Gough Whitlam
  • John Howard
  • Tony Abbott

• Deputy Prime Ministers of Australia –
  • John Anderson
  • Lionel Bowen
  • Anthony Albanese

• Ministers for Foreign Affairs
  • Sir Percy Spender
  • Sir Garfield Barwick
  • Sir Nigel Bowen

• Chief Justices of the High Court of Australia –
  • Sir Samuel Griffith
  • Sir Garfield Barwick
  • Sir Anthony Mason
  • Murray Gleeson

• Justices of the High Court of Australia –
  • Sir Edmund Barton
  • Richard O'Connor
  • Albert Piddington
  • Sir George Rich
  • Dr H. V. Evatt
  • Sir Edward McTiernan
  • Sir Dudley Williams
  • Sir Frank Kitto
  • Sir Alan Taylor (jurist)
  • Sir Victor Windeyer
  • Sir Cyril Walsh
  • Sir Kenneth Jacobs
  • Lionel Murphy
  • Sir William Deane
  • Mary Gaudron
  • Michael McHugh
  • Michael Kirby
  • William Gummow
  • Dyson Heydon
  • Susan Crennan
  • Virginia Bell

• State governors and Territory Administrators –
  • Sir Roden Cutler (NSW)
  • Sir James Rowland (NSW)
  • Dame Marie Bashir (NSW)
  • Sir Alan Mansfield (Qld)
  • Richard Butler (Tas)
  • Sir James Plimsoll (Tas)
  • Tom Pauling (NT)
  • Peter Coleman (NF)
  • Sir Jack Keith Murray (Papua and New Guinea)

• Premiers of New South Wales –
  • Sir Joseph Carruthers
  • Sir Thomas Bavin
  • Sir George Fuller
  • James McGirr
  • Sir Eric Willis
  • Neville Wran
  • Nick Greiner
  • John Fahey
  • Morris Iemma
  • Nathan Rees
  • Mike Baird

• Other Premiers and Chief Ministers –
  • George Thorn (QLD)
  • Clare Martin (NT)

• Chief justices of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales –
  • Sir William Portus Cullen
  • Sir Philip Whistler Street
  • Sir Frederick Richard Jordan
  • Sir Kenneth Whistler Street
  • Dr H. V. Evatt
  • Sir Leslie James Herron
  • Sir John Kerr
  • Sir Laurence Whistler Street
  • Murray Gleeson
  • James Spigelman
  • Tom Bathurst

• Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Queensland –
  • Hugh Macrossan
  • Sir Alan Mansfield

• Chief justices of Supreme Court of Western Australia –
  • Sir Lawrence Jackson

• Solicitors-General of Australia
  • Sir Maurice Byers

• Judge of the United States District Court –
  • John Davies

• Lord mayors of the City of Sydney –
  • Sir Emmet McDermott
  • Nelson Meers
  • Jeremy Bingham
  • Frank Sartor
  • Lucy Turnbull
  • Clover Moore

• Lord mayors of the City of Westminster
  • Kevin Gardner

• Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly
  • Dr H. V. Evatt

• Members of the House of Lords
  • Robert May, Baron May of Oxford
  • Trixie Gardner, Baroness Gardner of Parkes

• Aboriginal leaders – Charles Perkins and Noel Pearson
• Other notable Federal politicians – Kerry Bartlett, Chris Bowen, Lionel Bowen, Bob Brown, Ross Cameron, Craig Emerson, Laurie Ferguson, Martin Ferguson, Jennie George, Joe Hockey, Tom Hughes, Ros Kelly, Peter King, Andrew Laming, Mark Latham, Robert McClelland, Daryl Melham, Tsebin Tchen, Danna Vale.

• Other political figures:
  • Akhilesh Yadav, 20th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, a state in India with a population of 200 million.
  • Dave Sharma, Youngest ever Australian diplomat, becoming Ambassador to Israel at the age of 36.
  • Martin Indyk, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, special assistant to U.S. President Bill Clinton and senior director of Near East and South Asian Affairs at the United States National Security Council
  • Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales

• Notable public servants
  • Tony Cole – thirteenth Secretary of the Department of the Treasury
  • Ewart Smith
  • Philip Flood – former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Academia

• Brian L. Byrne – Social scientist known for research in psycholinguistics. Emeritus professor at the University of New England.
• Sir Robert Madgwick – First Vice-Chancellor of the University of New England and two-term Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Director of the Australian Army Education Service during World War II.
• Elizabeth Bannan - Educationist awarded the Walter Beavis prize and the Jones medal.

Business and industry

• Fred Hilmer – CEO of University of New South Wales, former CEO of John Fairfax Holdings
• Yanis Varoufakis (academic) - Finance Minister of Greece, had been teaching at the University for 12 years, his daughter lives in Sydney^[1]
• Timothy Potts – The Director of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles
• Matt Barrie – CEO of Freelancer.com
• Jeni Klugman – the Director of the Human Development Report Office, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• Michael Patsalos-Fox – Chairman of McKinsey & Co in America
• John Grill – Billionare, CEO of WorleyParsons
• Margaret Gardner – CEO of RMIT University
• Malcolm Turnbull – Politician, lawyer, investment banker, prominent Republican
• Michael Spence – Vice-Chancellor and Principal of University of Sydney, Former Head of Social Science Division at Oxford University and Former Head of Law Faculty at Oxford University
• James Wolfensohn – President of the World Bank (1995–2005)
• Paul Ramsay – Billionaire, Philanthropist
• Allan Moss – ex Managing Director/CEO of Macquarie Bank
• Glenn Stevens – current governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia
• Sir David Higgins – CEO of Network Rail and former CEO of the London 2012 Olympic Delivery Authority and of Lend Lease Corporation
• Michael Hintze – Billionare, previously Head of U.K. Trading and Head of European emerging markets trading at Goldman Sachs, former managing director in the leveraged funds group at Credit Suisse First Boston, founder and CEO of asset managers CQS Management, UK Conservative Part donor and philanthropist
• Cameron Clyne – Former CEO of National Australia Bank
• David S. Clarke – Former Chairman of Macquarie Bank
• John Mulcahy – former CEO of Suncorp-Metway Ltd
• Gina Rinehart – Billionaire, the richest woman in the world
• Jim Millner – former Chairman of Washington H. Soul Pattinson
• Paul Kelly – Editor-at-Large of The Australian, previously Editor-in-Chief of The Australian
• Ryan Junee – founder and CEO of Omnisio, founder and CEO of Inporia

Science and technology

• Presidents of the Royal Society
  • Robert May, Baron May of Oxford – Former president of The Royal Society and Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government

• The Executive Director of IEEE
  • E. James Prendergast – Former Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for DuPont Electronic & Communication Technologies

• Presidents of the Australian Academy of Science
  • Sir Rutherford Robertson
  • Professor Arthur Birch
  • Professor David Craig
  • Sir Gustav Nossal
  • Professor Brian Anderson
  • Dr Jim Peacock

• Chief Scientists of Australia
  • Jim Peacock – Former President of Australian Academy of Science
  • Michael Pitman

• World Food Prize Laureate
  • Sanjaya Rajaram - once referred as"the greatest present-day wheat scientist in the world," by Norman Borlaug ,Head of Wheat Programme from 1976 to 2001 at International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT)

• Nobel Laureates –
  • Sir Robert Robinson (academic) – Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1947)
  • Sir John Eccles - Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (1963)
  • Bernard Katz - Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (1970)
  • Sir John Cornforth – Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1975)
  • John Harsanyi – Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1994)

• Crafoord Prize Winners –
  • Robert May, Baron May of Oxford Biosciences 1996
  • Edwin Ernest Salpeter Astronomy 1997

• Economists or Statisticians or Mathematicians
  • Trevor Swan – The Swan in the Solow-Swan Model
  • Graeme Segal – FRS, Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry, and Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge (from 1990 to 1999).^[2]
  • Peter Gavin Hall – Professor of Statistics at University of California, Davis
  • Pat Moran – Who made significant contributions to probability theory and its application to population and evolutionary genetics
  • Kelvin Lancaster – Creator of the Theory of the Second Best and "A New Approach to Consumer Theory", John Bates Clark Professor of Economics at Columbia University
  • Steven N. Evans – Professor of Statistics at University of California, Berkeley
  • Eugene Seneta (academic) – Co-Inventor of the Variance-gamma distribution
  • Richard M. Hain – Professor of Mathematics at Duke University
  • Robert Griffiths – FRS, Professor of Mathematical Genetics at University of Oxford
  • Yew-Kwang Ng – an Economist at Monash University
  • Jan Kmenta – Professor Emeritus of Economics at University of Michigan
  • George Foster – Paul L. and Phyllis Wattis Professor of Management at Stanford University
  • Stephen Donald – Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Texas at Austin
  • Justin Wolfers – Economist at Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business
  • John Romalis – Economist at University of Chicago Booth School of Business
  • Richard Holden – Economist at the MIT Sloan School of Management
  • Dennis A. Ahlburg – President of Trinity University, previously dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder and professor of human resources at Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota
  • Michael J. Hiscox – Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs, Harvard University
  • Francis G. Vella – Edmond Villani Professor of Economics at Georgetown University
  • Bruce McKern – Economist at Stanford University, Director of the Stanford Sloan Master’s Program from 2001 to 2007 at Stanford Graduate School of Business

• Environmental Scientists
  • Nerilie Abram - climate scientist

• Computer Scientists
  • Michael Georgeff – AAAI Fellow, Director of the Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute
  • John S. Gero – AAAI Fellow, has held visiting and permanent appointments at MIT, UC-Berkeley, UCLA, Columbia and CMU in the USA,at USYD and UTS in Australia, at Strathclyde and Loughborough in the UK
  • Rick Jelliffe – The inventor of the Schematron schema language
  • Andrew Tridgell – The co-inventor of the rsync algorithm and the author of and contributor to the Samba file server
  • John Lions – Author of Lions' Commentary on UNIX 6th Edition, with Source Code, commonly known as the Lions Book
  • Ross Quinlan – AAAI Fellow, a highly cited scholar and a pioneer in decision theory
  • Vaughan Pratt – ACM Fellow, a pioneer in computer science, Professor Emeritus at Stanford University
  • Rod Johnson – a best seller author and an expert in Java/Java EE, founder of the Spring Framework
  • Jia Dong – CEO of Red Flag Software, which is the Producer of Red Flag Linux, the current most used Linux system in Asia and the current third most used Linux System in the world. He is also the CEO of Asianux
  • Ken Thompson(academic) – co-creator of unix, Turing Award recipient^[3]

• Veterinary and/or Agricultural Scientists
  • Sir Ian Clunies Ross – Chairman Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
  • William Allen CBE – Professor of Equine Reproduction at Cambridge Veterinary School
  • William Beveridge – Professor of Animal Pathology and Director of the Institute of Animal Pathology at Cambridge University from 1947 to 1975
  • Alan Wilton, named as the 1994 Australian Science Communicators Unsung Hero of Science. Whilst not strictly a veterinary scientist, his research identified rogue genes in Australian cattle dogs and Australian stumpy tail cattle dogs. Also identified the genes responsible for CL and TNS afflictions in border collies. He played a leading role in setting up a DNA sequencing facility that ultimately led to the establishment of the Ramaciotti Centre for Gene Function Analysis at the University of NSW.
  • Hugh McLeod Gordon – World renowned Veterinary Parasitologist
  • Dr Ross Perry, Australia’s first registered avian veterinarian, the first to study and name Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease for which he was co-discoverer of viral infection agent^[4]
  • Wesley Whitten, veterinary scientist whose research led to breakthroughs in infertility treatment in humans. In 1993 he was awarded the Marshall Medal from the Society for the Study of Fertility and in 1996 the Pioneer Award of the International Society for Embryo Transfer. He discovered the synchronisation of the oestrus cycle of female mice exposed to the pheromones in male mouse urine. It is known as the Whitten effect. He developed the Whitten medium, in use globally, which facilitates culturing mammalian eggs and developing embryos^[5]
  • Professor Charles MacKenzie AO, Michigan State University, significant contributor to filarial disease eradication in the peoples of Equatorial Africa^[6]
  • Gordon McClymont, agricultural scientist, ecologist, and educationist. Foundation chair of the Department of Rural Science at the University of New England and originator of the term "sustainable agriculture"

• Astronauts –
  • Paul D. Scully-Power – first Australian astronaut
  • Philip K. Chapman
  • Greg Chamitoff (academic)

• Oceanographers –
  • Anthony Haymet – Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography^[7]

• Explorers –
  • Griffith Taylor – Antarctic explorer and Professor of Geography at the University of Chicago and Founder of the Geography department at the University of Toronto
  • Sir Douglas Mawson – Geologist and Antarctic explorer
  • Sir Edgeworth David – Geologist and Antarctic explorer

• Engineers or Physicists or Inventors –
  • Noel Hush – FRS, Winner of the 2007 Welch Award in Chemistry
  • Ezio Rizzardo – FRS, The inventor of Reversible Addition-Fragmentation chain Transfer (RAFT) technology
  • Neville Thiele – Co-inventor of Thiele/Small parameters
  • Richard H. Small – Co-inventor of Thiele/Small parameters
  • Robert May, Baron May of Oxford – Previously Chairman of the University Research Board and Professor of Zoology at Princeton University
  • Edwin Ernest Salpeter – Famous for his contributions to Astronomy, Professor of Physics, Emeritus at Cornell University
  • Bernard Mills – FRS, Inventor of the Mills Cross Telescope
  • Herbert Huppert – FRS, Professor of Theoretical Geophysics and Foundation Director, Institute of Theoretical Geophysics, Cambridge University, since 1989 and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, since 1970.
  • Bruce Bolt – Pioneer of engineering seismology, Professor of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley
  • Ruby Payne-Scott – First Female Radio Astronomer in the World
  • Ronald N. Bracewell – Lewis M. Terman Professor of Electrical Engineering, Emeritus at Stanford University
  • Paul Klemens, emeritus professor of physics at University of Connecticut, leading American theoretical physicist whose life work is honoured by the triennial award of the Klemens Medal in Phonon Physics;
  • Dr John Bradfield – designer of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
  • David Warren – inventor of the Black Box (flight data recorder)
  • Graeme Clark – inventor of the bionic ear implant
  • Eric Davis (1923–2009), who perfected the technology, now applied globally, for preserving food and drink in containers and casks.
  • John O'Sullivan – Winner of 2009 Prime Minister's Prize for Science (the nation's top science award); one of the originators of wireless technology, credited with the invention of WiFi^[8] earning hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties.
  • Bryan Gaensler – previously an associate professor of astronomy at Harvard University, now an ARC Federation Fellow at the University of Sydney
  • Ronald Ernest Aitchison – solid-state physicist and electronics engineer
  • Richard Makinson – physicist notable for his contributions to amorphous semiconductors

• Archaeologists –
  • Timothy Potts
  • V. Gordon Childe
  • Basil Hennessy
  • David O'Connor
  • Stephen Bourke
  • Karin Sowada

Medicine

• Professor John Mattick AO FAA, Executive Director of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, whose research led to the discovery of the function of Non-coding DNA
• Professor Alan O. Trounson – President of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)
• Professor David Hunter – Dean for Academic Affairs, Harvard School of Public Health
• Professor Dame Valerie Beral AC – (graduated with first-class honours in both medicine and surgery, 1969), epidemiologist, Fellow of the Royal Society, Head of Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford and Cancer Research UK since 1989, leader of the survey of 1.3 million women that established hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as a major cause of increased breast cancer rates in western nations.^[9]
• Professor Virginia L. Hood – President of American College of Physicians
• Sir Michael Marmot – President of British Medical Association, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London, has conducted ground-breaking studies into stroke.
• Sir Archibald Collins, President of British Medical Association in Australia.^[10]
• Sir John Eccles, 1963 Nobel Laureate in Medicine or Physiology "for discoveries concerning the ionic mechanisms involved in excitation and inhibition in the peripheral and central portions of the nerve cell membrane"
• Sir Bernard Katz, 1970 Nobel Laureate in Medicine or Physiology "for discoveries concerning the humoral transmittors in the nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release and inactivation"
• Stephen W. Kuffler, "Father of Modern Neuroscience"
• Professor Maxwell Bennett, who proved that nerve terminals on muscles release transmitter molecules, rather than just the noradrenaline and acetylcholine that were previously known
• Sir Henry Harris FRS, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford, who first demonstrated the existence of tumour-suppressing genes.
• Sir Norman Gregg, identified rubella in early pregnancy as a human teratogen.
• Professor Jacques Miller FRS, discoverer of the function of the thymus (the last major organ of the human body whose function remained unknown).
• Sir Brian Windeyer, Vice-Chancellor of London University 1969–72; Professor of Radiology at London University 1942–69.^[11]
• Sir Gustav Nossal FRS, immunologist, discoverer of the so-called "one cell-one antibody" rule, which states that each B lymphocyte, developed in bone marrow, secretes a specific antibody in response to an encounter with a specific foreign antigen.
• Dr Gerald Lawrie, world-renowned American heart surgeon and pioneer in the surgical treatment of valvular heart disease. On 14 August 2007, Dr. Lawrie performed the first mitral vale repair using the daVinci robotic surgical system using an advanced technique called the American Correction. In 2008, he was appointed the Methodist Hospital Michael E. Debakey Professor of Cardiac Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine.
• Raymond Dart, an Australian anatomist and anthropologist, best known for his discovery in 1924 of a fossil (first ever found) of Australopithecus africanus (extinct hominid closely related to humans).
• Dr. Mark C Lidwell, co-inventor of Artificial pacemaker
• Dr. Edgar H Booth, co-inventor of Artificial pacemaker
• Professor Graeme Clark FRS, inventor of cochlear ear implant .
• Professor Colin Sullivan, inventor of the Continuous Positive Airflow Pressure (CPAP) mask
• Dr. George Kossoff, co-inventor of the first ultrasound scanner
• Professor Robert Clancy, developer of first oral vaccine for acute bronchitis.
• Professor John Prineas, discoverer of how brain and spinal cord myelin is destroyed in multiple sclerosis.
• Professor Donald Metcalf FRS, his research revealed the control of blood cell formation.
• Dr Anna Donald (1966–2009), pioneer and advocate of evidence-based medicine.
• Professor Marshall Edwards, the discoverer of maternal hyperthermia as a human teratogen.
• Dr William McBride, obstetrician, who in 1961 first warned the medical world against thalidomide as a human teratogen.
• Professor Samy Azer, Professor of Medical Education and International Medical Educator.
• Dr John Hunter, Challis Professor of Anatomy at age 24 years whose brilliant career, achieving international recognition, was cut short by fever just 2 years later.
• Dr Victor Chang AC (1936–1991), one of the pioneers of modern heart transplantation
• Dr Max Lake OAM (1924–2009), Australia's first specialist hand surgeon
• Dr Nikos Athanasou – Professor of Musculoskeletal Pathology at Oxford University and Greek-Australian novelist
• Dr John Diamond, developer of Behavioral Kinesiology (now called Life-Energy Analysis), a system based upon Applied Kinesiology, incorporating the emotions.
• Professor Patrick McGorry, Australian of the Year 2010.
• Professor Earl Owen, microsurgery pioneer whose institute has trained hundreds of Asian doctors.
• Wirginia Maixner, director of neurosurgery at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. Graduated from the University of Sydney in 1986.
• Robert Kavanaugh, dentist and George Cross recipient.
• Mitchell Notaras, graduate who funded the $1.1 million Mitchel J Notaras Scholarship for Colorectal Medicine at the University of Sydney
• Professor Geoff White, a world-renowned Australian vascular surgeon who earned global recognition by perfecting new surgical methods and devices that vastly improved the survival rates of patients and replaced intrusive open surgery, sometimes with day procedures.^[12]
• Professor Sir Brian Windeyer Professor of Therapeutic Radiology at Middlesex Hospital Medical School, University of London and Vice-Chancellor of the University of London.
• Professor Roland Stocker, a prominent scientist in the field of redox biology.
• June Lascelles, microbiologist, pioneering work in microbial photosynthesis.
• Dr Marnie Blewitt molecular biologist, prominent scientist in the field of epigenetics.
• Grace Boelke, general practitioner, one of the first two female graduates in medicine from the University of Sydney.
• Katie Louisa Ardill, OBE, the first woman to be appointed as a divisional surgeon in New South Wales, and was among the first female doctors when she joined the British Expeditionary Forces in Egypt in 1915
• Grace Cuthbert-Browne, MBE, doctor and Director of Maternal and Baby Welfare in the New South Wales Department of Public Health from 1937 to 1964
• Mavis Sweeney (1909 - 23 July 1986), Hospital pharmacist
• Dr Claudia Bradley, MBE, (1909 - 1967), Pharmacist, paediatrician, orthopaedist

Armed services

• Lieutenant General Sir Iven Mackay, outstanding leader of the 6th Australian Division in the Libya Campaign.
• Lieutenant General Sir Mervyn Brogan, Chief of the General Staff.
• Lieutenant General James Legge, Chief of the General Staff.
• Major-General Sir Victor Windeyer.
• Lieutenant General Sir Carl Jess.
• Lieutenant General Sir Frank Berryman.
• Major-General David Engel, Chief of Materiel.
• Brigadier Sir Frederick Chilton, in his 100th year he led the Sydney Anzac Day March.
• Major-General Greg Melick.^[13]
• Air Vice Marshal Bruce Short.^[14]
• Major-General Sir Ivan Dougherty.
• Major-General John Broadbent CBE^[15]
• Major-General Paul Brereton AM RFD, Head Cadet, Reserve and Employer Support Division
• Major-General W B "Digger" James AC, Director-General of Army Medical Services.
• Major-General William Watson, Director-General of Army Medical Services.
• Major-General Frederick Maguire, Director-General of Army Medical Services.
• Captain Gordon King, commando leader awarded the Distinguished Service Order for action at the Battle of Kaiapit.^[16]
• Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Drew, Director-General of Army Medical Services (United Kingdom).
• Rear-Admiral Alec Doyle, Chief of Construction RAN
• Rear-Admiral Darryl Lynam, Director General of Fleet Maintenance RAN
• Air Vice Marshal Ian Esplin DFC, Royal Air Force.
• Air Vice Marshal Colin Hingston AM^[17]
• Air Vice Marshal David Morgan AO OBE^[17]
• Air Vice Marshal Rodney Noble AO^[17]
• Air Vice Marshal Glen Reed^[17]
• Air Vice Marshal Neil Smith AM MBE^[17]
• Air Vice Marshal Ian Sutherland AO^[17]
• Air Vice Marshal Ernest Hey CB CBE^[17]
• Air Vice Marshal Michael Helsham AO DFC^[17]
• Air Vice Marshal Brian Graf AO^[17]
• Air Vice Marshal Desmond Douglas OBE DFC^[17]
• Air Vice Marshal Joseph Dietz^[17]
• Air Vice Marshal William Collins AO^[17]
• Air Vice Marshal Lyndon Compton AO OBE^[17]
• Air Vice Marshal Christopher Deeble AM CSC^[17]

• Victoria Cross recipients:
  • Roden Cutler
  • Percy Storkey

Arts, literature and media

• David Malet Armstrong – Challis Professor of Philosophy, 1964–91.
• Millicent Armstrong (1888–1973) was an Australian playwright and farmer who wrote primarily about the experiences of country life in early 20th century Australia. She graduated BA with first class honours in English in 1910.
• Margaret Clunies Ross, McCaughey Professor of English Language and Early English Literature, Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies
• Professor Jill Ker Conway – Previously Vice-President of the University of Toronto and President of Smith College. She is a Visiting Professor in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Program in Science, Technology, and Society and she serves on the boards of Nike, Merrill Lynch, and Colgate-Palmolive, and as chairman of Lend Lease Corporation.
• Professor Michael Halliday – Creator of the systemic functional grammar, an internationally influential grammar model.
• Professor Peter Godfrey-Smith – professor of philosophy at Harvard University
• Professor Peter Cunich – Department of History at the University of Hong Kong
• Dr. Timothy Potts – Best known for his directorship of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Kimbell Museum, and National Gallery of Victoria. Also known for his writings in the art and archaeology of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean.
• Professor Roger Woodward – Foundation Director at California State University in San Francisco, School of Music & Dance, pianist and musician, AC, Chevalier des arts et des lettres, OM (Pol), Gloria Artis (Pol)
• Germaine Greer – feminist
• Geoffrey Robertson – human rights lawyer
• Professor Niall Lucy, Australian writer and scholar, best known for his work on Jacques Derrida and deconstruction.
• Oliver Feltham – philosopher, best known for his English translation of Alain Badiou's Being and Event
• Actors – John Bell, Rose Byrne, John Flaus, Dolph Lundgren, Jacqueline Fernandez
• Architects –
  • John Andrews, designer of CN Tower, Toronto, Canada, the tallest concrete structure in the world and often listed as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
  • Philip Cox
• Broadcasters – Phillip Adams, Ray Martin, Adam Spencer
• Journalists – Richard McGregor, Lillian Roxon, Clive James, Robert Hughes, Bob Ellis
• Comedians – The Chaser (Charles Firth, Dominic Knight, Andrew Hansen, Chas Licciardello, Julian Morrow, Craig Reucassel, Chris Taylor)
• Opera singers – Dame Joan Sutherland, Yvonne Kenny
• Novelists Kimberley Starr, Clive Stephen Barry, Nikos Athanasou, Dymphna Cusack, Kate Grenville, Jeni Mawter, Kimberley Starr, Dora Birtles, Jennifer Rowe
• Poets – Christopher Brennan, A. D. Hope, Les Murray, Geoffrey Lehmann
• Film Directors – Jane Campion, Peter Weir, Bruce Beresford
• Pulitzer Prize winners –
  • Geraldine Brooks for March (2006)

Religion

• Roman Catholic Bishops
  • Anthony Fisher – Archbishop of Sydney
  • John Satterthwaite – Bishop of Lismore
  • William Wright – Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle

• Church of England Bishops (Australia)
  • Sir Marcus Loane – Archbishop of Sydney
  • Peter Jensen – Archbishop of Sydney
  • Donald Robinson – Archbishop of Sydney
  • Peter Watson – Archbishop of Melbourne
  • Geoffrey Cranswick – Bishop of Tasmania
  • Ian Shevill – Bishop of Newcastle
  • Arthur Green – Bishop of Ballarat
  • Henry Burgmann – Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn
  • Clive Kerle – Bishop of Armidale
  • Glenn Davies – Bishop of North Sydney
  • Edwin Davidson – Bishop of Gippsland
  • Neville Chynoweth – Bishop of Gippsland
  • Robert Forsyth – Bishop of South Sydney
  • Anthony Howard Nichols – Bishop of North West Australia
  • Leo Ash – Bishop of Rockhampton
  • George Cranswick – Bishop of Gippsland
  • David Garnsey – Bishop of Gippsland

• Church of England Bishops (International)
  • Dudley Foord – Presiding Bishop of the Church of England in South Africa
  • Eric Gowing – Bishop of Auckland
  • William Hilliard – Bishop of Nelson
  • Neville Langford-Smith – Bishop of Nakuru (Kenya)
  • Henry Newton – Bishop of New Guinea
  • Chen Fah Yong – Assistant Bishop of Sabah^[18][19]
  • Edward Wilton – Bishop of Northern Melanesia (New Guinea)
  • George Chambers – First Bishop of Central Tanganyika

• Chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales
  • Reverend Professor Hubert Cunliffe-Jones

• Coptic Orthodox Bishops
  • Dr. Anba Suriel – Bishop of Melbourne (Coptic Orthodox)

Sport

• Australian Rugby Union Captains (This is not limited to members of the Sydney University Football Club but reflects the scope of the title of the article – University of Sydney people)

• • Herbert Moran
  • Tom Lawton, Snr
  • John Solomon
  • Alex Ross
  • Dick Tooth
  • Phil Hardcastle
  • Johnnie Wallace
  • Michael Hawker
  • Nick Farr-Jones
  • Phil Waugh
  • Ken Catchpole^[20]
  • Stirling Mortlock^[21]
  • John Thornett^[22]
  • Peter Johnson^[23]
  • Dean Mumm^[24]
• Canoeing

• • Jessica Fox, French-born Australian slalom canoer, Olympic silver (K-1 slalom), world championships bronze (C-1)^[25]
• Chess Player
  • Zhao Zong-Yuan – The youngest Australian to become a chess Grandmaster and the current Australian Chess Champion
• Dual Internationals

• • Roger Cornforth, Rugby Union and Water Polo^[26]
  • Scott Gourley, Rugby Union and Rugby League
  • Otto Nothling, Rugby Union and Cricket
  • Johnny Taylor (cricketer), Rugby Union and Cricket
  • 'Snowy' Baker, Rugby Union, Diving, Boxing, Swimming and Polo^[27]
  • Kevin Ryan, Rugby Union and Rugby League^[28]
  • Ellyse Perry, Cricket and Football

• World Record Holders
  • Jack Metcalfe, Competing on Sydney University Oval on 14 December 1935, Metcalfe set a new world record in the triple jump, leaping 15.78 metres
  • Nigel Barker, he is regarded as holder of Australia's first athletics world record, in the 400 yards.

• Notable
  • John Treloar, first Australian to reach final of Olympic Games 100 metres sprint
  • Brendon Cook, International race car driver
  • Caitlin De Wit, Wheelchair basketball player

Staff

• Governors-General of Australia
  • Quentin Bryce – Principal of The Women's College, University of Sydney, from 1997 to 2003.
• Archbishops of Sydney
  • Roger Vaughan – Rector of St John's College, University of Sydney, from 1874 to 1877
• Astronauts
  • Gregory Chamitoff – adjunct professor
• Renowned Professors
  • John Anderson – Challis Professor of Philosophy
  • Charles Badham – Professor of Classics and Logic
  • John Burnheim – Professor of General Philosophy
  • Robert Gilbert – Professor of Chemistry and Founding Director of the Key Centre for Polymer Colloids
  • Enoch Powell – British politician, Professor of Greek
  • Leo Radom – Professor of Computational Chemistry
  • John Smith – Professor of Chemistry and Experimental Physics
  • James Stewart – Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology
  • Julius Stone – Challis Professor of Jurisprudence and International Law
  • George Winterton – Professor of Constitutional Law
  • William Noel Benson – Demonstrator in the Department of Geology
  • William Foley – Professor of Linguistics and co-developer of Role and Reference Grammar

Administration

Chancellors

The chancellor is elected by the fellows and presides at Senate meetings. In 1924, the executive position of vice-chancellor was created, and the chancellor ceased to have managerial responsibilities. Until 1860, the chancellor was known as the provost.

• 1851–1854: Edward William Terrick Hamilton
• 1854–1862: Sir Charles Nicholson
• 1862–1865: The Hon. Francis Lewis Shaw Merewether
• 1865–1878: The Hon. Sir Edward Deas Thomson
• 1878–1895: The Hon. Sir William Montague Manning
• 1895–1896: The Hon. Sir William Charles Windeyer
• 1896–1914: The Hon. Sir Henry Normand MacLaurin
• 1914–1934: The Hon. Sir William Cullen
• 1934–1936: Sir Mungo William MacCallum
• 1936–1941: The Hon. Sir Percival Halse Rogers
• 1941–1964: Lt-Col. Sir Charles Bickerton Blackburn
• 1964–1970: Sir Charles George McDonald
• 1970–1990: Sir Hermann David Black
• 1990–1991: Sir James Rowland
• 1991–2001: Emer. Professor Dame Leonie Kramer
• 2001–2007: Justice Kim Santow
• 2007–2012: Professor Marie Bashir
• 2013–present: Belinda Hutchinson

Vice-Chancellors

The vice-chancellor serves as the chief executive officer of the university, and oversees most of the university's day-to-day operations, with the chancellor serving in a largely ceremonial role. Before 1924, the vice-chancellors were fellows of the university, elected annually by the fellows. Until 1860, the vice-chancellor was known as the vice-provost. Since 1955, the full title has been Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

• 1851–53: Sir Charles Nicholson
• 1854–62: The Hon. Francis Merewether
• 1863–65: The Hon. Sir Edward Deas Thomson KCMG CB
• 1865–69: The Hon. John Hubert Plunkett
• 1869–83: The Rev. Canon Robert Allwood
• 1883–86: The Hon. Sir William Charles Windeyer
• 1887–89: The Hon. Sir Henry Normand MacLaurin
• 1889–91: The Hon. Sir Arthur Renwick
• 1891–92: Henry Chamberlain Russell
• 1892–94: His Honour Judge Alfred Paxton Backhouse
• 1895–96: The Hon. Sir Henry Normand MacLaurin
• 1896–99: His Honour Judge Alfred Paxton Backhouse
• 1900–02: The Hon. Sir Arthur Renwick
• 1902–04: The Hon. Mr Justice Archibald Henry Simpson
• 1904–06: Sir Philip Sydney Jones
• 1906–08: Sir Arthur Renwick
• 1909–11: The Hon. Sir William Portus Cullen KCMG
• 1911–14: His Honour Judge Alfred Paxton Backhouse
• 1914–17: Frank Leverrier KC
• 1917–19: Cecil Purser
• 1919–21: The Hon. Sir David Gilbert Ferguson
• 1921–23: Frank Leverrier
• 1923–24: Cecil Purser
• 1924–28: Professor Sir Mungo William MacCallum
• 1928–47: Sir Robert Strachan Wallace
• 1947–67: Emeritus Professor Sir Stephen Henry Roberts
• 1967–81: Professor Sir Bruce Rodda Williams
• 1981–90: Professor John Manning Ward
• 1990–96: Professor Donald McNicol
• 1996 (acting): Professor Derek John Anderson
• 1996–2008: Professor Gavin Brown
• 2008–present Dr Michael Spence

References

• Williams, Bruce. Liberal education and useful knowledge: a brief history of the University of Sydney, 1850–2000, Chancellor's Committee, University of Sydney, 2002. ISBN 1-86487-439-2
• Inspiring leaders at Women's College
• Governor returns to College

References