Former Bond University deputy vice chancellor Alan Finch AM has been recognised in the Australia Day 2026 Honours List.
Dr Finch was made a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to higher education, through the design and implementation of models of governance.
The honour recognises Dr Finch’s role in the establishment, survival and long-term development of Bond University, where he served for more than three decades.
Dr Finch joined Bond in the late 1980s as assistant registrar and was among the university’s first staff members.
Over the following 32 years, interrupted only by a short period away, he held senior leadership roles including registrar, secretary of the University Council and deputy vice chancellor (students and support services).
He played a key role in developing Bond’s academic and governance frameworks, including its three-semester academic calendar, a defining feature of Australia’s first private university.
Bond admitted its first cohort of students in 1989, but the early years were marked by significant financial instability following the collapse of its founding companies. Dr Finch was closely involved in managing the university through this period.
After briefly leaving Bond to become registrar at the University of Southern Queensland, he returned in 1996 as the university faced another critical juncture, with the campus placed in receivership.
Dr Finch was instrumental in negotiations that led to Bond University acquiring ownership of its campus in 1999, securing the institution’s independence. He later oversaw periods of growth following the extension of FEE-HELP to private university students.
In 2012, he helped establish the Nyombil Indigenous Centre, developed in consultation with local Indigenous elders to support Indigenous students.
Bond University Vice Chancellor and President Professor Tim Brailsford said Dr Finch’s contribution had been “immense”, particularly his impact on students.
Dr Finch retired from Bond in November 2019 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate.
Another Honourary Doctor of the university, Basil Sellers AO, was named an Officer of the Order of Australia.
Dr Sellers received the honour for distinguished service to the community through philanthropy and leadership, and to sports administration.
The university’s largest theatre, Basil Sellers Theatre, is named for him.
Alumna Andrea Davidson (Class of 2003) received the Public Service Medal for transforming Victoria’s youth justice system and improving outcomes for young people.