Vice-Chancellor
The Vice-Chancellor is the chief executive officer of the University of Papua New Guinea, appointed by the University Council and accountable to it for the academic and administrative leadership of the University.
Professor Ian Findlay
Vice-Chancellor
- Took office
- 1 August 2025
Appointed by the University Council under Section 28(1) of the University of Papua New Guinea Act 1983.
Vice-Chancellor's Message
Welcome to the University of Papua New Guinea.
Established in 1965, this University has educated a very large share of the people who have built modern Papua New Guinea — its doctors and nurses, its lawyers and judges, its scientists, teachers, economists, public servants and business leaders. That record is an inheritance, and it is also an obligation. The country is younger, larger and more connected than it was when UPNG opened, and it is entitled to expect a national university that keeps pace with it.
To our students: you have earned your place here, often against real odds. You are entitled to be taught well, to be assessed fairly, to be supervised by staff who are present, and to graduate on time with a qualification that is respected in Port Moresby, in the provinces and abroad. In return you will be held to a standard — of attendance, of honest work, and of conduct towards each other on a campus that must be safe for every student who lives and studies on it.
To our staff: teaching and research at this University are national service. My commitment is to the conditions that let you do that work — functioning laboratories and lecture theatres, reliable connectivity, a library worth the name, timely administration, and a fair path for academic advancement.
To government, industry, our alumni and our international partners: UPNG belongs to Papua New Guinea. The questions this country needs answered — in health, in resources and the environment, in law and in public policy — are questions this University is placed to answer, and we intend to answer them with you.
I look forward to meeting you on our Waigani and Taurama campuses.
Professor Ian Findlay
Vice-Chancellor, University of Papua New Guinea
Biography
Professor Ian Findlay was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Papua New Guinea by the University Council under Section 28(1) of the University of Papua New Guinea Act 1983, and took up the role on 1 August 2025.
As Vice-Chancellor he is the University's chief executive officer. He is accountable to Council for academic leadership and standards, for the management of the University's staff, finances, campuses and assets, and for representing UPNG to the National Government, to industry, and to partner universities and research institutions in Papua New Guinea and overseas. He chairs the University's senior executive management and sits on Council and Senate.
A full professional biography — qualifications, academic career and research interests — is being confirmed with the Office of the Vice-Chancellor and will be published here.
Vision for UPNG
The University's stated vision is to be an “internationally recognised University dedicated to excellence in providing quality education, research, and services”, and its mission is to “deliver excellent, innovative education and research results for nation building and global advancement towards an empowered society”.
The task of this term of office is to make those words describe the ordinary, daily experience of studying and working at UPNG: classes that run, staff who are qualified and present, results returned on time, research that is funded and published, buildings that are maintained, and systems that work the first time. Reputation follows from that, not the other way around.
Progress will be judged on things that can be counted and reported to Council — completion and graduation rates, graduate employment, research output and external research income, staff qualification and vacancy levels, and the condition of teaching facilities on both campuses.
Priorities
Six commitments for this term of office, each with something measurable behind it.
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01
Degrees that hold their value
Curricula reviewed against professional and international benchmarks, assessment returned on schedule, and a serious effort on the gap between the students who enrol and the students who graduate.
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02
Research that answers PNG's questions
Concentrate effort where the country needs evidence and UPNG has standing — health and medicine, natural resources and the environment, climate resilience, law, and public policy — and lift external research income to sustain it.
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03
A campus that is safe and liveable
Accommodation, water, power, lighting, security and student health treated as core academic infrastructure, because students who do not feel safe do not complete their degrees.
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04
Recruit, develop and keep good staff
Fill long-standing academic vacancies, support Papua New Guinean staff through postgraduate qualifications, and make academic promotion transparent and timely.
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05
Digital foundations across both campuses
Use the improved international connectivity now reaching Papua New Guinea for teaching, library access and administration — one student record, one timetable, online learning that works from a phone.
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06
Sound governance and financial discipline
Clean audits, published policies, procurement that stands scrutiny, and reporting to Council and to the public on what the University does with the funds it is given.
The Office at a Glance
- Professor Ian Findlay
- Vice-Chancellor since 1 August 2025
- The University Council
- Chaired by the Chancellor
- Section 28(1), UPNG Act 1983
- University of Papua New Guinea Act 1983
- The University Council
- Through the Chancellor
- Waigani and Taurama
- Port Moresby, National Capital District
- 1965
- First students enrolled in 1966
Contacting the Vice-Chancellor
The office receives a large volume of correspondence. Knowing where a request belongs is the quickest way to have it answered.
Student matters go through your School first
Academic and welfare issues are resolved fastest by your course coordinator, then your Head of Division or Executive Dean. The Vice-Chancellor's office refers matters back to that line unless the School process is exhausted.
Invitations to speak or officiate
Send invitations in writing at least four weeks ahead, with the date, venue, audience, and what is being asked of the Vice-Chancellor. Public Relations and Event Management coordinates the diary for public events.
Media and public comment
All media requests go through Public Relations and Event Management, which arranges interviews and issues statements on behalf of the University.
Council and governance business
Papers for Council and Senate, and requests for official University records, are handled by the Governance Services Secretariat rather than by the Vice-Chancellor directly.
Formal complaints and disclosures
Put them in writing to the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, with dates, names and any documents. Anonymous correspondence cannot usually be acted on.
Office of the Vice-Chancellor
Most enquiries are answered faster by the office that handles the subject. Use the contact below that fits what you need.
Office of the Vice-Chancellor
Appointments, official correspondence and formal complaints
- Administration Building, Waigani Campus
Public Relations and Event Management
Media requests, speaking invitations and University events
- Waigani Campus
Governance Services Secretariat
Council and Senate business, official records and policies
- Administration Building, Waigani Campus
Office of the Registrar
Student records, admissions decisions and academic appeals
- Waigani Campus
The message, biography summary and priorities on this page are draft copy prepared by the web team from published University material, and await confirmation by the Office of the Vice-Chancellor. Contact details are yet to be supplied.