Peter Høj

Peter Bordier Høj is Vice-Chancellor and President of The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, and Chair of the Group of Eight – which represents Australia's most research-intensive universities.

Professor Peter Høj, Vice-Chancellor and President, The University of Queensland

Early years and education

Peter Høj was born in 1957, to John and Bodil Høj in Copenhagen, Denmark.

He was educated at the University of Copenhagen, majoring in biochemistry and chemistry. He has a Master of Science degree in biochemistry and genetics, and a PhD in photosynthesis.

While working in the Carlsberg Laboratory he met and later married an Australian researcher, Dr Robyn van Heeswijck (1956-2003). They moved to Australia in 1987, and Høj is now a dual Australian/Danish citizen.

Career

Høj became Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Queensland on 8 October 2012.^[1]

Prior to this, Hoj’s senior full-time appointments have included:

• Foundation Professor of Viticultural Science, University of Adelaide (1995–2004)
• Managing Director of the Australian Wine Research Institute (1997–2004)
• Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Research Council (2004–2007)
• Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of South Australia (2007–2012)^[2]

International appointments and memberships

Høj is a member of the Medical Research Future Fund Advisory Board,^[3] a member of the STEM Males Champions of Change,^[4] and a member of SUSTech President’s International Advisory Council.

He is a Senior Consultant to Hanban^[5] in the Oceania Region and a member of the Leadership Council on Cultural Diversity.^[6]

Honours and awards

Høj has received two Honorary Doctorates, one from the University of Copenhagen and another from the University of South Australia^[7].

He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering^[8] and a Foreign Member (Natural Sciences Class) of The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.

References