Professor Ian Kerr appointed new head of Curtin’s Sarawak campus

Professor Ian Kerr, Curtin Sarawak’s new Pro Vice-Chancellor.

Miri – 10 May 2010 – Curtin University of Technology has appointed a new Pro Vice-Chancellor for its Sarawak campus in Miri. Professor Ian Kerr, formerly Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor of the Curtin Business School (CBS) at the university’s main Bentley campus in Perth, assumed the position on 3 May 2010.

Professor Kerr’s distinguished career at Curtin, spanning more than 30 years, started in the Faculty of Humanities, before moving to the CBS. Prior to becoming the Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor at the CBS, he was CBS Dean of Operations, Head of the School of Economics and Finance, and Head of the Department of Economics.

Professor Kerr was also Director of the Institute for Research into International Competitiveness (IRIC), Editor of The Asia Pacific Journal of Economics and Business, and CEO of the History of Economic Thought Society of Australia.

His teaching and research interests lie in public finance, taxation policy, history of economic thought and economic development, while his published works include journal articles, book chapters, monographs, published conference proceedings and contract research reports.

Professor Kerr takes over the position in Sarawak from Professor John Evans, who returned to Curtin Bentley as Professor of Accounting and Director of Research, School of Accounting, after helming the campus for over four years.

In his new role, he will lead a team of over 300 staff members (with a current enrolment of about 3,000 students from over 40 countries) and take the highly-acclaimed Curtin Sarawak campus to the next level.

Very much a results-oriented educator and administrator, Professor Kerr’s immediate focus will be on strengthening the quality of courses and introducing new programmes to meet market needs, increasing student numbers and growing the ratio of international students, enhancing the total student experience, growth in revenue and the optimisation of resources, all aimed at moulding Curtin Sarawak into a truly world-class, student-focused university. This is consistent with Curtin University’s goal of being among the top 20 universities in Asia by 2020.