Vice-Chancellor
Professor Paul Johnson assumed the Vice-Chancellorship of La Trobe University in April 2007. He is the author of the ‘Green Paper’ and subsequent Strategic Plan document - its implementation will ensure La Trobe University’s future in the Australian Higher Education landscape.
Professor Johnson received his doctorate from Oxford University in 1982, while working as a Research Fellow at Nuffield College.
In 1984, he joined the London School of Economics (LSE) as a lecturer in social history. He became Professor of Economic History and Head of the Department at the LSE in 1999 before becoming the LSE's Deputy Director in 2004.
His research has focused on two distinct areas: the economic and social development of Britain since 1850, and the economic impact of population ageing.
He has published 10 authored or edited books and more than 60 articles and chapters, and has been recipient of research grants valued at more than $4 million. He has been expert adviser on pension reform and the economics of demographic change to the World Bank, the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, the British Government and the House of Lords.
Professor Johnson has served on a number of professional councils, learned societies and professional bodies in the UK including the ESRC Research Grants Board, the Council of the Economic History Society, and the Governing Board of the Pensions Policy Institute.
He was elected to a Fellowship of the Royal Historical Society in 1978 and to the Academy of Social Sciences in 2001.
In his role as Deputy Director at the LSE, Professor Johnson was responsible for academic and strategic planning; resource allocation; human resource policy; estates development and management; and fundraising. He was a member and chair of a number of key committees including the Academic Planning and Resources Committee and the LSE Council.
Professor Johnson's full resume (PDF 40kb) is available to view.
Read the VC’s 2008 - 2012 Strategic Plan (PDF 336kb).