Lieutenant General David Morrison AO (Retd.)
Over the four years at ANU, with the terrific input of the staff at the arts department, I think I probably started what has been a life-long journey into exploring what literature and the study of history can give you throughout your life.
Lieutenant General David Morrison concluded his appointment as Australia's Chief of Army in May 2015. David joined the Army after completing his Bachelor of Arts at ANU and, during a 36-year career as a soldier, he saw operational service in Bougainville and East Timor.
As an Australian Army Officer, led troops from platoon level all the way up to three star General - Chief of Army.
This is an appointment he held for the last four years of his service. His loyalty to his profession and outstanding performance was recognised by being made an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2010.
In his tenure at the top of Australia's Army, David faced many leadership challenges but he is probably best known for his strong public stance on gender equality and leading cultural change in large organisations.
His three-minute video address to his workforce in the wake of a particular instance of poor behaviour by a group of officers and senior soldiers was posted on YouTube and has had over 1.6 million views.
He has spoken about diversity and culture to the United Nations International Women's Day Conference in New York and was a closing speaker with Angelina Jolie, William Hague and John Kerry at the Global Summit to Prevent Sexual Violence in Military Conflict in London in 2014.
The Australian Financial Review named David as one of Australia's leading influences on culture in 2014 and Boss Magazine included him in its top dozen leaders in Australia in the same year. In 2015, David was appointed Chair of the Diversity Council Australia.
He has been named the Australian of the Year for 2016.
Throughout all this, David has remained close to ANU. In 2014, he addressed the ANU 精东传媒app Security College on gender equality and spoke to the ANU Gender Institute in February 2015.
