The St Andrew’s College Council is pleased to announce that Dr Daniel Tyler has been selected as the 14th Principal of the College and will commence on 12th December 2024.
The Council ran an extensive recruitment process and met with a number of candidates from across the country over the last few months.
Daniel is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Sydney and has worked as our Director of Education since joining the College nearly two years ago. During his time at St Andrew’s, Daniel has built a high-calibre team of academics and transformed the college’s tutorial program to be one of the best college tutorial programs in Australia. Subsequently, the high student engagement has already led to a 2% increase in the Semester Average Mark across the whole of the College. Daniel has also developed a program of short courses, designed around the College’s long-standing emphasis on leadership, providing an attractive value-add to the College experience.
Daniel was previously the Vice-Master and Acting Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge for nearly three years before his family moved to Australia. He successfully led Trinity Hall, Cambridge through a difficult period including the Covid pandemic and high-profile governance and cultural challenges. The Cambridge role provided Daniel with strong experience leading a contemporary and complex organisation of a similar size to St Andrew’s, across a range of key College areas such as education, student life, operations, HR, and finance in the UK context.
Prior to this Daniel was a College Associate Professor in English at Cambridge and also a Lecturer at Balliol College in Oxford. As an academic, his research interests are focused on nineteenth-century poetry and fiction. Daniel has a high international standing as a scholar of Victorian literature, both as an editor and a literary critic, and he has published several books in the field, on writers including Charles Dickens.
Daniel’s academic credentials are already enabling him to establish St Andrew’s as an asset to the University of Sydney and will further assist the College to play a leading role within the Australian Higher Education landscape.
His experience will enhance the College’s drive to recruit a student body from a greater diversity of schools and backgrounds, with increased rural and regional backgrounds and with a heightened ability to identify talent and potential among under-represented demographics.
Sasha James (Kovic), the outgoing Chair of Council, said “Daniel is an exceptional person and leader. He has a calm and collaborative management style, and he has absolute regard and care for student welfare. Daniel understands the distinct culture and ethos of St Andrew’s and upholds our Christian values. His ambition and energy will propel St Andrew’s College to the next level.”
Jeremy Hoffmann, the incoming Chair of Council, said “Daniel is an understated leader who knows himself well, has high EQ and is thoroughly considered in his thinking. He will bring good judgement and experience to the Principalship, and I look forward to working closely with Daniel next year.”
Mary Hockaday, the present Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, said: “I’d like to congratulate Dr Daniel Tyler. As Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge I saw for myself how Daniel demonstrated his commitment to academic success and supporting a flourishing community of students, staff and Fellows. I am confident St Andrew’s will benefit from his leadership, to nurture well-rounded students. I wish him well in his new role.”