Portal:University of Oxford/Selected biography/69

Robert Madgwick (1905–1979) was an Australian educationist. Born in North Sydney, New South Wales, Madgwick trained as a schoolteacher before attaining degrees in economics and economic history from the University of Sydney and Balliol College, Oxford. Madgwick gained experience in adult education while working as a lecturer in Sydney's extension program, and he served during World War II as Director of the Australian Army Education Service, which provided adult education services to the Army's 250,000 members. After the war, he guided the New England University College to independence as the University of New England in 1954, becoming its first Vice-Chancellor and presiding over the school's expansion of its curriculum and facilities while promoting closer ties with the local community. Madgwick was an influential proponent of adult learning and extension studies in tertiary education. In recognition of his contributions to education, Madgwick was appointed to the Order of British Empire in 1962 and knighted in 1966. After his retirement, Madgwick served from 1967 to 1973 as Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission.