University leadership
President and Vice-Chancellor
As President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester, Professor Duncan Ivison, FAHA FRSN, is the chief executive and academic leader of the University. Find out more about his work.
Thoughts and perspectives
"Collaboration is our superpower"
Sharing a vision for the University’s next chapter.
“I have serious questions about the REF”
A candid take on why tough questions are being asked about how the REF assesses research.
Philanthropy at Manchester
"We can’t help more students come to our university without support from our partners."
In conversation
From Manchester for the world
Recorded at The University of Manchester – Dubai, in this video the President and Vice-Chancellor shares his vision for Manchester’s role as a global university with a civic heart.
In Conversation: Open Research
Duncan discusses Open Research at Manchester with PhD student Swara Patel and Dr Cathal Rogers, Research Culture and Assessment Manager.
AI at Manchester
Announcing a major partnership with Microsoft to give 65,000 students and colleagues access to Microsoft 365 Copilot, alongside training and support.
Q&A with Pep Guardiola
Legendary football manager Pep Guardiola reflects on receiving an honorary degree at Manchester.
Find out more
Professor Duncan Ivison, FAHA FRSN, is the President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester. Originally from Montréal, Canada, he completed his BA (Hons) in political science and philosophy at McGill University before moving to the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where he gained his MSc and PhD.
Duncan has held academic roles across several leading universities, including the Australian National University, the University of York (UK) and the University of Toronto. He spent more than two decades at the University of Sydney, where he took on major leadership positions: Head of the School of Humanities (2007-2010), Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (2010-2015) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) (2015-2022).
Duncan has taught and published extensively across political and moral philosophy. His work has been recognised with the 1993 Robert Mackenzie Prize (LSE) and the 2004 CB Macpherson Prize for the best book in political theory. He is an elected Fellow of both the Australian Academy of Humanities (2007) and the Royal Society of New South Wales (2015). His international experience includes fellowships and visiting appointments at Princeton University, the ANU and Nuffield College, Oxford.
Across his career, Duncan has been deeply involved in shaping conversations about the future of universities, research, innovation and economic development. He is particularly passionate about public engagement and building strong partnerships between universities, communities, industry and government.
He and his partner, Diana Irving, have two children, Hamish and Isobel.
View a summary of Professor Ivison's remuneration and contract (2024–26).
Contact information
The University of Manchester,
Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT
Tel: +44 (0) 161 306 6010
Email: president@manchester.ac.uk