Robert Madgwick

Who was Robert Madgwick?

Sir Robert Bowden Madgwick OBE was an Australian educationist. He was the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of New England and served two terms as Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Madgwick was an influential proponent of adult learning and extension studies in tertiary education. At the University of New England, he directed the development of several degree programs, including rural science, agricultural economics, and educational administration which were the first of their kind in Australia. In recognition of his contributions to education, Madgwick was appointed to the Order of British Empire in 1962 and knighted in 1966.

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 University of Oxford. Appointed as a lecturer at the University of Sydney, Madgwick worked in the school's extension program which gave him experience and interest in adult education. With the onset of World War II, Madgwick and his colleagues proposed an adult education plan for the Australian Army.