SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY
Professor Greg Marston has undertaken social research in a range of fields drawing on a variety of social science disciplines, including social policy, sociology, political economy, social work and policy studies. He has expertise in qualitative approaches to social inquiry and has used different methods to explore a range of contemporary issues, including: poverty and debt; refugee resettlement; housing and homelessness; income support; unemployment; the changing mixed economy of welfare; and the role of social policy and urban planning in addressing the climate change challenge.
Professor Marston has led a number of Australian Research Council (ARC) projects over the past decade. He is currently involved with three projects. He is leading two ARC Linkage projects, one concerned with pathways to employment for people with disabilities and another looking at the role of social networks and social capital in surviving unemployment and finding employment. He is also leading an ARC Discovery Project focusing on the role of deliberative policy-making and social policy in transitioning countries to a low-carbon future.
Professor Marston is a member of the Australian Research Council College of Experts and is also the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) representative in Australia. Professor Marston has held visiting appointments at Lund University, Melbourne University and The University of Chicago.
Prior to entering academia Greg worked with non-government organisations undertaking social policy and research at the state and national level. Professor Marston is passionate about social justice issues and the role of education and research in contributing to social change, particularly the role of the social sciences and humanities in fostering the conditions for human flourishing, critical thinking, and well-functioning social and political institutions.
As Head of School, he seeks to promote effective governance, transformative teaching and multidisciplinary research in collaboration with his academic and professional colleagues in the school. He is also keen to ensure high levels of external engagement with various publics related to the school’s teaching and research strengths.