Rate My Professor Lucy Johnston

Professor Lucy Johnston is Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation at the University of Canterbury, a position she assumed in 2025. She previously served as Dean of Postgraduate Research at the same institution and as a founding member of the New Zealand Institute of Language, Brain and Behaviour. Professor Johnston was also a member of the Psychosocial Recovery Advisory Group for the Joint Centre for Disaster Research following the Christchurch earthquakes. She holds degrees from the University of Oxford and the University of Bristol and was appointed to the University of Oxford Alumni Board in 2023.

An internationally recognised experimental social psychologist, Professor Johnston’s research has focused on non-verbal behaviour in social interactions, with additional contributions to higher education research. She has held leadership roles in tertiary education across New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Most recently, she served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise at the University of Canberra, where she was interim Vice-Chancellor from 2023 to 2024. She has also held positions at Murdoch University and the University of Newcastle. Earlier in her career, she progressed from lecturer to Professor of Psychology at the University of Canterbury between 1994 and 2010.