Honorary Professor – Faculty of Health Science – University of Sydney

Academic Qualifications

• MA (University of Sydney)
• MEd. Hons (Sydney University),
• PhD (UTS)

Career Overview

Professor Gonczi started his career in education as a TAFE teacher of General Studies in 1971. In 1978 he was appointed to Sydney Teachers College where he taught on professional development courses for TAFE teachers. He was appointed senior lecturer in 1984. In 1989 he joined UTS and in 1991 was appointed as Associate Professor and head of the Department of Human Resource Development.
In 1994 he became Head of School of Adult Education and in 1997 was appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Education a position he held until mid 2005. He was a Professor of Education from 1998 to the end of 2005.

His main academic interests have been in the area of educational policy, vocational education and training, professional education and educational leadership.

In 2006 Professor Gonczi set up a consulting company specialising in vocational and higher education. He has recently undertaken projects for the Migration Agents Registration Authority, FINSIA, Billy Blue Colleges, Insearch,Whitehouse School of Design, Kaplan Higher Education, Australian Institute of Music, Australian Institute of Actuaries and the University of Sydney, amongst other organisations.

He has been Chair of the Academic Board of Wollongong University College and NSWTAFE Access and General Education advisory Board and is currently a member of the academic boards of Macleay College, and of Collarts. He is chair of the academic board of Whitehouse and chair of the Academic Boards of Kaplan on line Higher Education and Kaplan Business School.

Current Responsibilities

Currently Professor Gonczi is working part time in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Sydney as Director of Educational Innovation. The balance of his week is taken up with consulting projects.

Kaplan Contribution

• Chair, Kaplan Higher Education Academic Board (2011 – present)
• Chair, Kaplan Business School Academic Board (2013 – present)
• Member Post Graduate Academic Advisory Committee (2004 – 2007)
• Chair of the Open Entry Academic Advisory Committee (2001 – 2003)
• Chair, Kaplan Corporate Board (2018 – present)

Vice President, Academic, Kaplan International (Australia)

Academic Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Master of Business Administration
• Bachelor of Economics

Career Overview

Dr Michael Evans is an independent academic consultant. Prior to  Mike’s retirement from Kaplan Higher Education in August 2018, he was responsible for the Academic oversight of all Kaplan Higher  Education operations in Australia. This includes driving the academic strategic direction of all areas of Kaplan’s higher education business including Kaplan Business School, Murdoch Institute of Technology,  Bradford College and Kaplan Professional’s online postgraduate finance courses. 

Prior to joining Kaplan Mike was a Professor of Management and Pro Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Business and Law at Southern Cross University in Australia. Mike has a wide range of business experience, with skills in managing, consulting, teaching and research. His recent research has focused on regional development and the business implications of climate change. He also has interests in valuation, innovation, commercialisation, and value creation within organisations. He has undertaken a wide range of applied research and consulting assignments for clients including reviews of strategic planning and implementation, performance measurement and evaluation, valuation and financial analysis. He has also been actively involved in executive education activities, with a focus on accounting, finance and strategy. He has consulting, research and teaching experience across Australia, in Asia and in Europe. Mike has a wealth of experience in Asia, having been involved in business development for universities since 1987, focused on Singapore, Malaysia and China. He has managed academic and business activities across 10 countries. Mike’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Economics, Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Philosophy. Mike also holds a prestige Fellow of CPA Australia (FCPA) designation.

Kaplan Contribution

• Member, Kaplan Higher Education Academic Board

Adjunct Lecturer – Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance, Macquarie University

Academic Qualifications

• LLM: (University of Sydney)
• MCom (UNSW)
• BCom (UNSW)
• LLB (UNSW)
• Fellow of CPA Australia
• Chartered Tax Adviser of Taxation Institute of Australia

Professional Qualifications

• FASSA
• FCPA

Career Overview

Patrick Gallagher has board experience in a number of entities in the university, public and private sector – including at ASX listed entity level. He is currently an adjunct staff member and lecturer-in-charge of courses at Macquarie University at Masters level. He is also an instructor within the CPA Program of CPA Australia and from 2004 to 2012 was a consultant, instructor and review examiner for CPA Australia Greater China (including a period as review examiner for exams jointly held with the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs).

He was formerly an Associate Professor in the Law Faculty at UNSW (which included co-founding and acting as Director of the Australian Taxation Studies Program) with various other responsibilities including – member of University Committees and also member of university entities’ Boards of Directors. He has also been an Associate Professor in the Law Faculty at the University of Western Sydney which included a period as Director, re-constructing the MCom (Financial Planning) degree.

Patrick has Extensive domestic and international experience, including as Australian Director of ‘AusAid’ programs in China. His experience extends to strategy development (including as strategy consultant to the large Chinese corporation TsingHua TongFang), governance, company and taxation law and finance and risk management.

Patrick was the Founding President of the Australasian Tax Teachers’ Association and is currently an adviser and governance consultant to organisations in the not-for-profit sector (including charitable and religious organisations).

Patrick is also the author of many papers and publications in Australia and overseas. This includes the former Australian Vice-Chancellor’s Committee, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the World Bank, the Ford Foundation and various universities including UNSW and Potsdam University. He has also presented at conferences and seminars of the Australian Taxation Institute. He is currently Author for CPA Australia “CPA118 Ethics and Governance” segment which is studied by approximately 11,000 CPA candidates each year. Author/co-author of the majority of assessable written educational materials for since 2011 to the present (S1 2014).

Patrick is also the sole Director of a specialist consulting company and in this capacity he provides practical advice on many aspects of governance, tax and risk.

Current Responsibilities

• Managing Director, Governance Tax & Risk Pty Ltd
• Consultant to IGAP at Macquarie University

Kaplan Contribution

• Member, Kaplan Business School Academic Board

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Master of Business Leadership
• Bachelor of Arts (Politics and International Relations)

Career Overview

Dr James Adonopoulos’s PhD thesis was centred on the ways in which leaders influence employee engagement during organisational crises and significant change. Prior to his appointment as the Academic Dean at Kaplan Business School, he was employed as a sessional member of staff at Macquarie University and the University of Technology, Sydney.

His academic history is supported by practical corporate experience as a leader in a variety of industries, such as financial services and contact centres, at which his most noteworthy achievements were in relation to his employees’ engagement, performance and retention. In combination with his books and fortnightly newsletter, his insights on workplace relations are read by 100,000 people every month.

For more than a decade, he has worked with hundreds of organisations as a speaker, facilitator and consultant, helping them successfully lead change, engage staff, and improve performance. This work has taken him to almost a dozen countries, working with clients that include McDonald’s, American Express, Coca-Cola, Qantas, Optus, Ernst & Young, Gucci, Toyota and many government departments.

Kaplan Contribution

• Academic Dean, Kaplan Business School
• Chair, KBS Teaching & Learning Committee
• Member, KBS Academic Board
• Member, KBS Grade Ratification and Assessment Committee