Rate My Professor James Arvanitakis

Professor James Arvanitakis is the Director of the Forrest Research Foundation at the University of Western Australia, a role he has held since 2022. He earned his PhD in History, Philosophy, and Environmental Studies from the University of New South Wales in 2006, along with a BA (Hons) in Applied Economic Geography from the same university in 1990, and several graduate diplomas including in Environmental Policy. Before entering academia, Arvanitakis worked for nine years in finance as an economist and free market advocate. His perspective shifted after witnessing child and indentured labour, leading him to collaborate with international organizations such as Oxfam Hong Kong, Aid/Watch, and Friends of the Earth (France) across Australia, Asia, the Pacific, and Europe. He previously served as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Engagement and Advancement) and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Graduate Studies) at Western Sydney University, where he was also the founding Head of The Academy, lecturer in Humanities, and Adjunct Professor at the Institute for Culture and Society. Other key appointments include Executive Director of Fulbright Australia and Principal Consultant at the Astrolabe Group.

Arvanitakis's research focuses on citizenship, resilience, piracy, trust, hope, and the future of universities within the social sciences. He has authored over 100 articles and several books, including From Despair to Hope (Penguin, 2016), Universities, the Citizen Scholar and the Future of Higher Education (co-edited, Palgrave, 2016), Sociologic: A Sociological Analysis of Everyday Life (Oxford University Press, 2015), and Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in India and Australia (edited, Routledge, 2019). Notable publications include 'Universities, the citizen scholar and the future of higher education' (2016), 'Massification and the large lecture theatre: from panic to excitement' (2014), and 'Civics and citizenship education: What have we learned and what does it mean for the future of Australian democracy?' (2019). An award-winning educator and researcher, he received the Prime Minister’s University Teacher of the Year Award (2012), Eminent Researcher Award from the Australia India Education Council (2015), Fulbright Fellowship as Milward L. Simpson Visiting Professor at the University of Wyoming (2019), and excellence awards for The Academy (2016, 2017). He is a regular ABC News 24 commentator, inaugural Patron of Diversity Arts Australia (2021), and founder of the Respectful Disagreements project.