Vice-Chancellor's Professorial Fellows

The Hon. Jill Hennessy is a distinguished former Victorian Attorney General and Minister for Health, with more than a decade of Parliamentary and Cabinet experience until December 2022. She has forged a reputation for strong strategic leadership and a commitment to positive change for the Victorian community.

In her several Ministerial portfolios, Jill’s innovative approach enabled some of the largest Health and Justice reforms in the State. Some of these have become benchmarks for other governments, most notably the ground-breaking Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation. As Minister for Workplace Safety, Jill introduced significant occupational safety and workplace manslaughter reforms, as well as the Health Complaints Commission.

Jill is a Monash alumna with a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts, and holds a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne. She is currently Non-Executive Director on a number of boards, including Scope (Aust) Ltd and the Western Bulldogs Foundation, and a member of the Sir Zelman Cohen Advisory Committee. Jill has also published a monograph on respect as part of Monash University Publishing’s In the National Interest book series.

As a Vice-Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow, Jill’s role involves consultation with Monash’s Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences regarding future plans and strategy for its hospital network, and providing strategic advice to the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture with regard to the design of a multidisciplinary ‘Future Health’ initiative. She also provides strategic advice to the Vice-Chancellor and President, and contributes to advancing and promoting Monash University, its staff and students within the wider community.

Esteemed Monash alumnus and Honorary Professor of Medicine and Cardiology at the University, Professor Ian Meredith AM is an internationally renowned interventional cardiologist, practicing clinician and clinical trialist with more than 35 years’ experience in his field. He has performed more than 20,000 invasive cardiac and coronary procedures and mentored a generation of cardiologists. In addition to championing new treatment paradigms for clinical practice, he has been the chief investigator on more than 30 major international, randomised trials, including several world-first-in-human studies, resulting in more than 400 peer-reviewed publications.

In 2005, after a succession of academic and clinical appointments in cardiology, Ian became Director of Monash Heart and Executive Director of the Monash Cardiovascular Research Centre at the Monash Medical Centre, a position he held for 12 years.

During his tenure, Ian conceived the idea of a Victorian Heart Hospital (VHH), which would become the only dedicated specialist centre in Australia combining cardiovascular care, world-class research, and training facilities in one location. Ian was the driving force and chief medical advocate for the concept in its design and planning phase. The VHH opened in February 2023, adjacent to Monash’s Clayton campus on Blackburn Road.

From 2017 until he retired from the role in July 2023, Ian was Executive Vice-President and Global Chief Medical Officer of Boston Scientific in the US, where he led clinical innovation, pre-clinical science and medical affairs across the global organisation, and provided leadership to the company’s clinical trials and research and development strategy.

During his career, Ian has served on numerous professional, industry and state and federal government advisory boards and committees, including the Heart Foundation of Australia and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. From 2017 to 2023, he served as the Victorian Government’s ‘Medtech’ Business Ambassador to North America.

In 2012, Ian was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for outstanding service to cardiology and for his advisory roles in public health organisations. Monash University awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa in 2019.

Ian’s role as a Vice-Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow includes:

• contributing expertise to relevant strategic and operational activities, particularly within the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and the Monash Institute of Medical Engineering
• providing strategic advice to the President and Vice-Chancellor related to his extensive medical and broader knowledge and expertise
• promoting and advancing Monash University and its interaction with the community.

Distinguished Monash alumna Marilyn Warren was the first woman to have been appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, the first female Chief Justice in any Australian state or territory. During her 14 years as Chief Justice of Victoria (2003 - 2017), Marilyn served also as Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria (2006 - 2017). Marilyn's early career encompassed legal practice in the public and private sectors, culminating in appointment as Queen's Counsel (QC). She was first appointed a judge of the Supreme Court in 1998. Australia's highest honour, a Companionship in the Order of Australia (AC), was awarded to Marilyn for her service. As Chief Justice, Marilyn was chair of many legal and judicial bodies, including the Courts Council, the Judicial College and the Judicial Commission of Victoria, the Victorian Council of Legal Education, the Victoria Law Foundation and the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. The University conferred on Marilyn the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa in 2004.

As a Vice-Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow, Marilyn's role includes contributing to teaching and learning activities within the Faculty of Law and advancing the University's interactions with the community.

Mr Peter Woolcott AO is a distinguished former Diplomat and Australian Public Service (APS) Commissioner with an international career spanning four decades. He has unparalleled knowledge of government, systems of integrity and the global environment, including critical global issues to do with climate change and arms control.

Peter retired from his role as APS Commissioner in May 2023 after serving a five-year term, during which he worked for a stronger public service, better equipped to respond to the complex challenges of the day, through the first ‘APS Workforce Strategy’, the launch of the APS Academy and implementation of the Thodey Review.

Peter’s career has featured numerous important diplomatic positions. He served as Australia’s High Commissioner to New Zealand (2016-2017); the Australian Ambassador for the Environment (2014-2016); the Australian Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva and Ambassador for Disarmament (2010-2014); Ambassador for People Smuggling Issues (2009); First Assistant Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2007-2009); Ambassador to Italy and Permanent Representative to the World Food Programme (2004-2007); Consul-General and Representative to the US Commander-in-Chief Pacific (1998-2001); and previous diplomatic postings including Jakarta and Manila.

Peter served as Chief of Staff to the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2002-2004, and to the then Prime Minister the Hon Malcolm Turnbull from 2017-2018.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the Australian National University and a Master of Arts from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the United States. In 2017, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to public administration in the field of international relations, and as a lead negotiator in the non-proliferation and arms control fields.

As a Vice-Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow, Peter has a close connection with the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership and the McKinnon Institute for Political Leadership, and:

• contributes his outstanding expertise to strategic and operational activities within the faculties of Arts and Law, and the Education Portfolio
• provides strategic advice to the Vice-Chancellor and President related to his professional and broader knowledge and expertise
• promote and advance Monash University and its interaction with the community.

The Hon Martin Foley has cultivated a distinguished career in public policy and government. A former politician and senior Cabinet Minister in the Victorian Government, he held various portfolios during his tenure in office – most notably serving as Minister for Health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a minister, he also held the portfolios of Mental Health, Disabilities, Housing, and Creative Industries during his career in government. Across these various positions, he led the Royal Commission into Victorian mental health system, implemented harm reduction policies associated with the Medically Supervised Injecting Room in North Richmond, led Victoria’s engagement in the development and launch of the National Disability Insurance and reform of the state-wide disability sector, and developed and implemented a consolidated, coherent approach towards Victoria’s creative sector.

He was also the first Minister for Equality in Victorian history, responsible for driving community organisation and legislative reform for LGBTIQA+ communities and playing an instrumental role in the establishment of Australia’s first Pride Centre.

A proud Monash alumnus, he holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History and Politics, as well as Master for Commerce (Honours) from the University of Melbourne. He is currently the Chair of Bayside Health and the Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation – delivering the rebuild and reimaging of Melbourne’s Arts Precinct. He is also a Board Member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the RISING festival.

In the role of Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow, he assists Monash University in strengthening its ties with the health sector,  particularly with Bayside Health as Monash’s Alfred and Peninsula campuses are closely associated with its facilities, expertise and locations. He believes that the future of the higher education sector is closely intertwined with the health sector in many aspects, including research, clinical trials, teaching and innovation. He also works with the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences as Professor of Practice – Adviser, aligning academic research with health service priorities in mental health and wellbeing.

He is a passionate St Kilda Football Club member and hopes to live long enough to see his team win a premiership.