The University of Sydney has appointed two internationally regarded experts to head up its China Studies Centre.


Dr Kerry Brown  will take up the role of Professor and Executive Director of the Centre, and Professor David Goodman will become the Academic Director of the Centre.


Dr Brown is currently Head of the Asia Programme at Chatham House and Leader of the Europe China Research and Advice Network (ECRAN), funded by the European Union and offering advice directly into the External Action Service.


Dr Brown has held a number of high level diplomatic, government and think tank posts as well as holding affiliations with various academic institutions in China, at Cambridge, the London School of Oriental and African Studies and Nottingham University. He was previously Head of the Indonesia, Philippines and East Timor Section at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, Head of Policy at UK Visas, First Secretary at the British Embassy in Beijing, and worked in the China Section at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.


Professor David Goodman is currently the Acting Director of the China Studies Centre and Professor of Chinese Politics at the University. He was previously the Director of the East Asia Centre at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Chair of the Asian Studies Program and Director of the Asia Research Centre at Murdoch University. At University of Technology, Sydney he established and developed the Institute for International Studies and later became Pro Vice-Chancellor, and then Deputy Vice-Chancellor International. More recently, he was the Director of the University's Institute of Social Sciences and Associate Dean International within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.


"With his track record of academic leadership Professor Goodman is the ideal person to steer the research and teaching programs of the China Studies Centre", said Vice-Chancellor Dr Michael Spence. "We are delighted to have secured his expertise."


Professor Goodman has a PhD in Chinese Politics from the London School of Oriental and African Studies. He has been involved in course and program design of numerous degree programs at three different universities in the last 25 years. He has taught undergraduate and postgraduate students in Chinese politics, history, language and literature.


The University of Sydney China Studies Centre is dedicated to working for the mutual benefit of Australia and China. Established in 2011, it has more than 130 academic staff engaged in the study of China and facilitates cross disciplinary research and teaching as well as extensive public programs.