Nicholas Farrelly

At the University of Tasmania, Nicholas Farrelly is Pro Vice-Chancellor for Southern Tasmania and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Arts and Society. The Arts and Society portfolio includes the School of Education, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Law, School of Creative and Performing Arts, and the Conservatorium of Music.

After graduating from the ANU with First Class Honours and the University Medal, Nicholas completed his M.Phil and D.Phil at Balliol College, University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. After returning to Canberra from Oxford, he was appointed Postdoctoral Fellow at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security.

He then held a number of key academic positions in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, including as a Deputy Director of the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs and as Director of the ANU Myanmar Research Centre, an institution he helped establish in 2015. From 2017-2019, Nicholas was Associate Dean of the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.

At the University of Tasmania, he was previously Professor and Head of Social Sciences, from 2020-2023, where he led a vibrant multi-disciplinary team based in Hobart, Launceston, Burnie and Melbourne. In his own research, Nicholas specialises in the study of political and cultural issues, with an emphasis on rapidly changing Asian societies. As an academic leader, he also works closely with a wide range of Australian government, industry and community organisations to help meet their needs for high-quality social science input.

Nicholas currently serves on the Board of the ASEAN-Australia Centre, which works to strengthen partnerships with Southeast Asia through stronger business, education, science, arts and cultural links. He is also the Deputy Chair of the Board of Australia's National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters, which is a government-owned company. Nicholas is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).

His primary academic focus is the study of political conflict and social change in mainland Southeast Asia. He has examined these themes across the borderlands where Myanmar rubs against India, Bangladesh and China. While studying these areas, Nicholas has continued to research, write and lecture about Thailand, a country at the heart of some of his oldest academic interests. In 2024 he co-authored report on Australia's engagement with Southeast Asia titled, "Comprehensive Strategic Partners: ASEAN and Australia after the first 50 years".