Alumni profile

Terry Moran AC is the Chancellor of Federation University, and a former Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. 

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences from La Trobe University, and is a member of the Class of 1972.

In his role as the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Terry reached the pinnacle of his job as he was the most senior official in the Australian Public Service.

He grew up in Reservoir, where he walked to La Trobe's Bundoora campus to enrol. He began at the University in 1967 - the first year it began taking students.

Terry said the founders of La Trobe had a vision for a more enriching learning experience compared to the other larger universities.

“La Trobe at that time only had about 500 students. The academic-to-student ratio was so rich that you had a lot of contact with very experienced professors and so forth, many of whom had come to La Trobe themselves looking for something new," Terry said.

He notes that during his time at the University, there was "quite a lot of excitement".

“There were lots of demonstrations and sit-ins," he said.

"It was time to get out of any connection with the Vietnam War [and] to start to respect the arts and cultural life within Australia."

Terry is fond of the University's penchant for diversity.

“La Trobe seems to enrol students who come from all the different groups within our society," he said. 

"Melbourne … is one of the most diverse cities in the world now. A unique part of Australia’s success, probably since the ‘60s, is the extent to which without difficulty we’ve abandoned the White Australia policy and embraced happily people coming in great numbers.

“La Trobe and other universities, they’re all a critical part of making progress through education achievable."

Distinguished Arts, social sciences and communications

Last updated: 14th May 2019