Stephen John Parker is a legal academic and university administrator. He is the current Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra

University of Canberra

Over the years the Stone Day program has gradually become larger and larger, taking up a whole week and now Stonefest is one of Australia's most popular music festivals. The first foundation celebrations were held in 1971. In 1973 Stone Day celebrations were held over two days, which was expanded...

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Parker was born in the north of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He graduated from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne with a Bachelor of Laws

Bachelor of Laws

The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...

. He went on to obtain a PhD from the University of Wales

University of Wales

The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...

. He first worked as an academic at University College, Cardiff. Between 1988 and 1994, he was Senior Lecturer and Reader in law at the Australian National University

Australian National University

The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...

. He was then Professor of Law at Griffith University

Griffith University

Griffith University is a public, coeducational, research university located in the southeastern region of the Australian state of Queensland. The university has five satellite campuses located in the Gold Coast, Logan City and in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt, Nathan and South Bank. Current...

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Professor Parker is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory

Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory

The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the superior court for the ACT. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters , and hears the most serious criminal matters...

, Barrister-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Queensland

Supreme Court of Queensland

The Supreme Court of Queensland, which is based at the Law Courts Complex, is the superior court for the Australian State of Queensland and sits around the middle of the Australian court hierarchy...

 and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. He practised law in the UK before moving to Australia in 1988.

In 1999, he was appointed Dean of Monash University Law School

Monash University Faculty of Law

Monash University Faculty of Law, or Monash Law School, is the law school of Monash University in Melbourne, Victoria. Established in 1963, it offers the LLB, J.D., LLM, S.J.D., LLD and PhD degrees in law. It has been ranked as one of the top 20 law schools in the world...

, a position he held until 2003. He then became Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Monash University

Monash University

Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....

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He began his term as Vice-Chancellor at the University of Canberra on 1 March 2007.