ProfMichael McDaniel AO

Emeritus Professor Michael McDaniel AO is a member of the Kalari Clan of the Wiradjuri Nation of Central New South Wales with a distinguished career in Indigenous higher education and record of service to the arts, culture, and the community spanning almost four decades.

Michael is a Special Advisor (Indigenous Priorities) to the Vice-Chancellor, University of Technology Sydney. Prior to this Michael was the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement) and Director of Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney. Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts from Western Sydney University and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Technology Sydney.

As an educational leader and innovator Michael has been instrumental in the development of approaches that have seen UTS positioned as one of the leading Australian universities in Indigenous higher education and research, and arguably an internationally significant university in this area. He is also a Special Advisor to the Board of CareerTrackers, a national not-for-profit organisation that facilitates paid internships, career opportunities and mentorship for Indigenous tertiary students and graduates.

Michael has held several Federal and State Government appointments having been a Chair of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and a Member of the Federal Minister for Education's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council, the National Native Title Tribunal, the New South Wales Mental Health Review Tribunal, the New South Wales Administrative Decisions Tribunal and the New South Wales Guardianship Tribunal. He has also served as a Commissioner with the New South Wales Land and Environment Court and is currently a Member of the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Michael has a considerable record of leadership and service in relation to arts and culture and is the Chair of the Sydney Opera House Trust. He is a former Chair of Bangarra Dance Theatre and has served on the boards of the Sydney Writers’ Festival, the Museum of Contemporary Art (Australia), Sydney Living Museums (Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales), the Australian Major Performing Arts Group and the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA Dance College).

Between 1980 and 1986, prior to entering university, Michael was as a full-time member of the Australian Defence Force, serving in the 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. 

In recognition of his contribution to Indigenous higher education, in 2019 Michael was honoured as the National NAIDOC Scholar of the Year and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales. In the same year he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Education by the World Indigenous Nations University (WINU). In 2023, he received an Honorary Doctorate and was conferred the title Emeritus Professor by the University of Technology Sydney. In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours Michael was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). The award was “for distinguished service to Indigenous tertiary education, to the advancement of social cohesion through reconciliation, to the performing arts, and to the community”.