About Fay Gale AO

Professor Emerita Fay Gale AO (1932-2008) was the first Honours graduate in Geography at the University of Adelaide and went on to become Pro-Vice Chancellor, the first woman in senior management at the University.

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She maintained strong links with Indigenous communities throughout her personal and working lives, and her work was influential in arguments for self-determination and recognition of the Stolen Generations.

As Vice Chancellor of the University of Western Australia from 1990 to 1997 she initiated a raft of programs to eliminate discrimination against women and was a pioneer in developing programs for equal opportunity and equity in the university sector.

Titles held by Fay Gale include:

  • Officer of the Order of Australia for her service to the social sciences in the fields of geography and Aboriginal studies
  • President of the Australian Vice Chancellors' Committee
  • President of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
  • President of the Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils.

Professor Emerita Gale's history of association with South Australia and the University of Adelaide, her commitment to genuine social change for women and Indigenous people, and her far-reaching impact on gender relations within the University sector make her a fine exemplar of all that the Centre hopes to achieve.

The Fay Gale Centre would like to thank Professor Gale's family for permission to use her name, and are honoured to be able to do so.