Gregory Joseph Craven is an Australian academic. He was vice-chancellor and president of the Australian Catholic University from February 2008 until January 2021.

Early life and education

Craven was educated at St Kevin's College in the Melbourne suburb of. He graduated from the University of Melbourne with a BA (1980); an LL.B (1981); and an LL.M (1984). The literary critic Peter Craven is his older brother.

Career

Craven taught at Monash University from 1982 to 1984. He was appointed director of research for the Legal and Constitutional Committee of the Victorian Parliament, spending three years in the position between 1985 and 1987. He was then appointed associate professor at the University of Melbourne. He then served as Crown Counsel to the Attorney-General for Victoria from 1992 until 1995, briefly returning to his previous post before being appointed professor of law at Notre Dame University in Fremantle, Western Australia, in 1996. He then became deputy vice-chancellor (strategy and planning) at Curtin University of Technology in Perth. He also served as executive director of the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy. Craven became vice-chancellor and president of the Australian Catholic University in February 2008. His initial term was set to finish in 2013, but was extended to March 2018. On 8 April 2020, the ACU chancellor, John Fahey, announced Craven's planned retirement, to become effective in January 2021. His successor was named as Zlatko Skrbis.

Other activities

Craven has researched and written on constitutional law, government, public policy, constitutional history, and federalism. He is a regular columnist for The Australian newspaper. He was a leading advocate of republicanism in the leadup to the (eventually unsuccessful) 1999 referendum on the proposed change in Australia from being a constitutional monarchy to a republic. Craven, Greg. Chapter One: The Republican Debate and the True Course of Constitutional Conservatism, from Proceedings of the Eleventh Conference of The Samuel Griffith Society, Rydges Carlton Hotel, Melbourne, 9 -11 July, 1999. Craven has served on a range of public bodies. He chaired the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group and was deputy chair of the COAG Reform Council. He was a member of the Commonwealth Higher Education Standards Panel (HESP) and the lead vice-chancellor for Universities Australia on quality and regulation. In February 2019, following the 2018 trial and conviction of Cardinal George Pell for child abuse, Craven provided one of 10 positive character references for the purposes of the sentencing hearing. Pell was eventually acquitted and all the convictions quashed by the High Court of Australia on 7 April 2020. Within the Australian Catholic community, Craven is a member of the National Catholic Education Commission and the Truth, Justice and Healing Council. He is also noted as a key Australian Catholic layman for opinions on important issues.

Degrees and honours