CDU Vice-Chancellor Simon Maddocks set to depart late 2020

Charles Darwin University has announced that its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simon Maddocks, will leave the university at the end of 2020, after seven years in the role. 

Professor Maddocks, who successfully secured $225m funding for the CDU City Campus Precinct and implemented a significant restructure to create a leading dual-sector university, said the timing was right to plan his succession. 

“CDU is now well placed for long-term sustainability and growth, and I am very proud to have helped play a part in ensuring students of all equity and socio-economic backgrounds from the Territory and across Australia now have more education opportunities and options. 

“CDU graduates are rated #1 and #2 in Australia for starting salaries and employment outcomes, and demand for a place at CDU is up by 65% year on year, which is unprecedented,” he said. 

CDU Chancellor Paul Henderson thanked Professor Maddocks for his dedication in further positioning CDU as a leading university and said the unprecedented disruption in the university sector due to COVID-19 made the timing right for a succession plan to be put in place. 

“I want to thank Simon for seven years of hard work that has put CDU in a strong position – he has led a significant restructure of the university which is nearing completion. Simon will leave CDU not long after turning the sod at the site of the new CDU city campus,” Mr Henderson said. 

“Simon has a true passion for education and for CDU, and he has set the university up perfectly for its next phase of growth. 

“There is a lot of senior level movement across the sector and we are confident we’ll be able to attract the very best candidates to lead CDU into its next stage of evolution.”