Rate My Professor Michael Spence

Dr Michael Spence AC is the President and Provost of University College London, a position he has held since January 2021. He previously served as Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Sydney from 2008 to 2020. An alumnus of the University of Sydney, Dr Spence holds a BA with first-class honours in English, Italian and Law. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford, where he headed the Law faculty and the Social Sciences division.

Dr Spence is recognised internationally as a leader in the field of intellectual property theory. During his tenure at UCL, he has led the development of the UCL Strategic Plan 2022-27, overseen the relaunch of the Grand Challenges programme, and supported the opening of UCL East. He has focused on financial sustainability, talent attraction and retention, and philanthropic fundraising, contributing to increased gifts to the university. Dr Spence has promoted constructive debate on challenging issues through initiatives on 'disagreeing well'. In 2017, he was named a Companion of the Order of Australia for service to higher education, and in 2018 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales. In December 2024, UCL Council extended his tenure to August 2031.