Foenander lecture series
The lecture is open to the public and provides an opportunity for the academic and business community to discuss contemporary issues of joint interest.
The Foenander Lecture was established in memory of Orwell D. Foenander, a former academic at the University, who was one of the leading figures in industrial relations scholarship in the early 20th century. Each year we invite a distinguished figure from government, business, the union movement or academia to present a lecture on contemporary issues in industrial relations and human resource management to an audience of practitioners and academics. This is a once-in-a-lifetime honour - speakers cannot be invited to deliver more than one Orwell Foenander lecture.
The lecture is open to the public and allows the academic and business community to discuss contemporary issues of joint interest. The lecture is usually scheduled in the early evening and held in one of the lecture theatres on campus.
Mailing list
To be included in our Foenander mailing list and receive updates on the next Foenander lecture, please email us at fbe-lectures@unimelb.edu.au
The 2023 Foenander Public Lecture was delivered by Professor Peter Turnbull, University of Bristol, on the topic, "Big Vision, Small Target? Industrial Relations Policymaking in the Age of Neoliberalism".
The 2022 Foenander Public Lecture was delivered by Professor Sharon K. Parker, Curtin University, on the topic, "Dystopia or Utopia: What sort of work future is ahead and how can work design make a difference?"
The 2021 Foenander Public Lecture was delivered by Rachel Doyle SC, on the topic, "Sexual Harassment: #MeToo in the era of ME ME ME".
2013 Foenander Lecture
Past Foenander Lecturers and topics (Download lecture PDFs here)