- Ross Fitzgerald
Ross Fitzgerald is an
Australia n historian, novelist and political commentator. Emeritus Professor of History and Politics at Brisbane'sGriffith University , he was also the Queensland Chair of the Centenary of Federation. He now lives in Sydney.He has published 30 books, including a two-volume history of
Queensland . Professor Fitzgerald currently writes a regular column for The Australian newspaper, reviews for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Weekend Australian and regularly appears on ABC Radio, ABCTV, and Channel 7.He is currently a member of the New South Wales State Parole Authority, of the New South Wales Heritage Council, of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal, and of the NSW Government Expert Advisory Group on Drugs and Alcohol. After being a member of the Civics Education Group, he is currently a member of the Values Education Advisory Committee which involves advising the Minister of Education how best to facilitate the inculcation of values in Australian schools.
As well as being Emeritus Professor, History and Politics and Adjunct Professor in the School of Arts at Griffith University, Ross Fitzgerald is also Conjoint Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Education and Arts at the University of Newcastle. Professor Fitzgerald’s PhD from the University of New South Wales was in Political Theory at the School of Political Science.
He has published thirty books, including a much-praised two-volume history of Queensland. Professor Fitzgerald's most recent books are The Pope'sBattalions: Santamaria, Catholicism and the Labor Split which has been widely praised as the definitive text on the subject and Growing Old(Dis) Gracefully : 35 Australians Reflect on Life over 50. Along with his wife Lyndal Moor, Professor Fitzgerald is contributing co-editor of Growing Old (Dis) Gracefully, published by ABC Books.
Other non-fiction works include The Federation Mirror: Queensland 1901-2001; Seven Days to Remember: The World's First Labor Government; Fred Paterson, The People's Champion. Australia’s Only Communist Party Member of Parliament and Red Ted: The Life of E.G. Theodore, which was short-listed for the NSW Premier’s Prize and for the National Biography Award. He is also the co-author of Labor in Queensland; editor of two best-selling collections, The Eleven Deadly Sins and The Eleven Saving Virtues; and co-editor of The Greatest Game: Writings on Australian Football, of Partners, and of Fathers : In Writing which was short-listed for the Western Australia Premier’s Prize. His book on the politics of Aussie Rules, The Footy Club, was also a best seller.
He has also published four works of fiction: Pushed from the Wings: An Entertainment; All About Anthrax; Busy in the Fog: Further Adventures of Grafton Everest; and Soaring, which won the Eros Foundations' erotic novel of the year award.
Professor Fitzgerald is co-producer and script editor of The Test an Indian-Australian feature film being produced with Jim McElroy at Fox Studios Sydney. He is also co-producer with Peter Cherry of "Ho & Me" – movie about Wilfred Burchett and Ho Chi Minh and also co-producer with Ian McFadyan of "Kerensky and Nelle" – a movie about Alexander Kerensky and Nelle Tritton.
Professor Fitzgerald is currently researching, A Nation Under the Influence, a written and visual history of alcohol in Australia.
He is a iife-long supporter of the Australian Football League team Collingwood, and he edited a collection of writings about Aussie rules entitled "The Greatest Game".
He is married to Lyndal Moor and has one child, Emily, who was 25 in 2008.
PERSONAL DETAILS
Ross Fitzgerald, Professor of History and Politics, personal Chair, 1996- 2002, and Professor Emeritus, History and Politics, Griffith University,2003 - present• Holds an Australian Senior Research Fellowship; • Prior to this, from 1977 to 1996 he was a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in History and Politics, Griffith University.
EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS
• 1975: PhD (Political Theory), School of Political Science, University of New South Wales • 1970: MA (Political Science), Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA • 1967: BA Hons. (History), Monash University, Victoria • 1962: Matriculated, Melbourne High School
He has supervised numerous higher degree and others students, a number of whom are now established writers. These include the Western Australian writer Ken Spillman and the Queensland authors Dr Denis Cryle and Dr Trevor Jordan. He has been awarded a five-year ARC Senior Research Fellowship.
During his time as Chair, Centenary of Federation Queensland, 1999-2002, he was actively involved in sourcing and overseeing a budget of $22 million and in co-ordinating all the celebrations and activities throughout the 12 regions of Queensland for the centenary of Australia’s Federation in 2001.
Website: http://www.rossfitzgerald.com
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