Nicola Phillips

Nicola Phillips is Vice Chancellor and President of Adelaide University, the Group of Eight institution formed from the 2026 merger of the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia. She took up the role in January 2026 after nearly 30 years in higher education leadership across the UK and Australia, most recently as Provost of the University of Melbourne from 2021 to 2025. She previously held senior posts at King's College London, Warwick, Manchester and Sheffield. A political economist by training, she holds a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and is a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences. On ThincHer, she spoke about leading Australia's largest university merger.