Professor Rufus Black is the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Tasmania.

Rufus holds degrees in law, politics, economics, ethics, and theology from the University of Melbourne and Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.

Rufus’s research and writing have been published widely, including by Oxford University Press and Routledge. Most recently, he was a coauthor of Ethics at War (Routledge 2024). He has also authored a number of major public reports for the Australian Government, drawing on his expertise in ethics, management, and strategy.

Rufus's work on economic issues and his commercial experience has included being a partner at McKinsey & Company, where he worked on strategy, organisation, and public sector issues in Australia and Asia, being a Board Member of the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia, a Board Member of Innovation Science Australia, and a Director of the national law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth. He is currently an Independent Board Member for Deloitte Australia.

Rufus’s educational and social sector experience includes being Master of Ormond College at the University of Melbourne, President of Museums Victoria, the Deputy Chancellor of Victoria University, Strategic Advisor to the Secretary of Education in Victoria, the founding Chair of the Board of Teach for Australia, a Director of the New York-based Teach for All, a Director of the Cranlana Foundation, and a Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.

Rufus’s work for government on matters of Defence and Security has included conducting the Black Review into Governance and Accountability in the Department of Defence, Co-Leading the Prime Minister’s Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community, being a member of the Afghanistan Inquiry Implementation Oversight Panel. Rufus is also a member of the Federal Government’s Urban Policy Forum.