Exciting new chapter of expertise in Humanities and Creative Arts

Today the Australian Research Council (ARC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Alison Ross as Executive Director, Humanities and Creative Arts. Professor Ross brings significant expert advice and guidance in research excellence to the ARC.

ARC Chief Executive Officer Ms Judi Zielke PSM today welcomed the appointment. “As a highly qualified scholar in the Humanities and Creative Arts, I congratulate Professor Ross,” Ms Zielke said.

“Executive Directors have an important role in the ARC, through their liaison with the research community and the contribution of their expertise to our programs, policies, and peer review processes. I am excited by Professor Ross’ passion and commitment to excellence in university research.”

Alison Ross is Professor of Philosophy at Monash University. She has been an ARC Future Fellow and the Deputy Dean Research in the Faculty of Arts. Most recently, Professor Ross held the position of Academic Director Research in the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research.

Professor Ross said she was thrilled with the appointment and excited by the opportunity to elevate the national profile and importance of Australian research in the Humanities and Creative Arts.

“The ARC is an essential component of Australia’s research infrastructure. I am excited to represent the Humanities and Creative Arts fields on the ARC executive and will promote the importance of Australian research in these fields with purpose and integrity,” Professor Ross said.

“I look forward to working closely with the ARC CEO and the ARC’s Chief Research Officer to ensure there are strong relationships between researchers, the research sector and the ARC.”

Professor Ross’s research focuses on the semantic impact of aesthetic experience on understanding the world and acting in it. She has published on topics in aesthetics, the history of modern philosophy as well as on literature and film. Professor Ross’s most recent books examined respectively the theory of revolution and history, and the conception of the image, in the work of the German cultural critic and philosopher Walter Benjamin.

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