Rebekah Brown

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Rebekah Brown
FASSA
Interim Vice-Chancellor and President of the Australian National University
Incumbent
Assumed office
September 2025
ChancellorJulie Bishop
Preceded byGenevieve Bell
Provost and Senior Vice-President of the Australian National University
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 2024
ChancellorJulie Bishop
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Senior Vice-President at Monash University
In office
June 2021 – May 2024
Senior Vice-Provost (Research) at Monash University
In office
January 2018 – June 2021
Personal details
EducationMonash University (BE (Hons)), University of New South Wales (PhD)
OccupationAcademic
Academic background
ThesisInstitutionalisation of integrated urban stormwater management: multiple-case analysis of local management reform across metropolitan Sydney (2003)
Academic work
DisciplineEnvironmental Studies
Institutions
Main interests
Urban water management, sustainable development, water-sensitive cities, transdisciplinary research

Rebekah Ruth Brown is an Australian academic who is a fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and served as interim vice-chancellor and president of the Australian National University since September 2025. Her research specializes in urban water management, sustainable development, and transdisciplinary methods.[1]

Education

Brown holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree with honors from Monash University.[2] She completed a PhD in Environmental Studies at the University of New South Wales in 2003, with a doctoral thesis titled "Institutionalization of integrated urban stormwater management: multiple-case analysis of local management reform across metropolitan Sydney."[3]

Brown worked as a civil engineer on infrastructure projects across the United Kingdom, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Africa.[1]

Academic career

Brown has worked in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of the social and biophysical sciences in sustainable water management since the early 2000s.[4]

Brown co-founded the water-sensitive cities research platform at Monash University. She was involved in establishing the $120 million (AUD) Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, comprising 86 partner organizations and over 170 researchers.[5] In this role, she served as Chief Research Officer and inaugural Society-themed Program Leader, overseeing research outcomes from more than 100 researchers and 40 doctoral students across multiple institutions and 20 disciplines.[2]

Brown's research has been cited in UN-Habitat's formulation of policy on urban drainage (2014–2017), in a UNESCO analysis of 33 cities (2012), and by the Asian Development Bank in framing water infrastructure investment strategies.[4]

In June 2024, Brown was appointed Provost and Senior Vice-President of the Australian National University, serving as the senior deputy to the Vice-Chancellor.[6] Following the resignation of Genevieve Bell in September 2025, Brown was appointed interim Vice-Chancellor and President of ANU.[7] She has committed to serving in this role until at least the end of 2026.[7]

Brown announced the end of the "Renew ANU" restructuring program and committed to no forced redundancies.[8] She outlined three key objectives: creating stability, rebuilding trust, and developing a new strategic direction for the university.[9] Brown served simultaneously as both provost and interim vice-chancellor during this period, with no separate interim provost appointed.[10]

Research and publications

Brown has published over 220 papers in journals, including Nature, Science, Global Environmental Change, and Water Research.[1] Her work has an h-index of 50 and more than 12,800 citations.[1]

Personal life

Brown was the first person in her family to attend university.[7] She studied engineering as one of only three women in her undergraduate cohort.[7]

References

  1. "Professor Rebekah Brown". Australian National University. 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2026-01-31.
  2. Monash University. "Professor Rebekah Brown". International Women's Day 2021, Monash University. Retrieved 2026-04-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Brown, Rebekah Ruth (2003). Institutionalisation of integrated urban stormwater management: multiple-case analysis of local management reform across metropolitan Sydney (Thesis thesis). UNSW Sydney.
  4. Monash University. "Global slum revitalisation research looks at water, sanitation and sustainable development". Monash University. Retrieved 2026-01-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. "Rebekah Brown". The Conversation. 2017-01-19. Retrieved 2026-01-31.
  6. Diaz, Amanda (2024-03-27). "ANU announces new Provost". ANU Reporter. Retrieved 2026-01-31.
  7. Vineet, Anushka (2025-09-25). "Who is the New Interim VC Rebekah Brown?". ANU Observer. Retrieved 2026-01-31.
  8. "ANU Renewed? Interim Vice-Chancellor Announces No More Forced Redundancies". ANU Observer. 2025-09-24. Retrieved 2026-01-31.
  9. Chia, Paris (2025-09-18). "WoroniInterim Vice Chancellor Rebekah Brown Takes Over". Woroni. Retrieved 2026-01-31.
  10. "First phase of a new ANU gets under way: hear from Rebekah Brown". www.canberratimes.com.au. 2025-10-18. Retrieved 2026-01-31.