Our history
The Faculty of Law at the University of Wollongong was established in 1990. The late Professor Jack Goldring, then a member of the Australian Law Reform Commission and formerly Professor and Head of the School of Law at Macquarie University, was appointed as Foundation Dean. He was succeeded as Dean by Professor Helen Gamble in 1995 and Associate Professor Robin Handley in October 1999. Professor Stuart Kaye was appointed in 2002, followed by Professor Luke McNamara in 2007, Professor Warwick Gullett in 2012 and Professor Colin B. Picker in 2017.
In January 2020, Professor Trish Mundy was appointed Dean of Law. Professor Mundy has a PhD from Griffith University, a law degree from UTS and expertise in issues of diversity, inclusion and the advancement of women within the legal profession; rural and regional legal practice and access to law and justice. She has been the recipient of several awards, including the Vice Chancellor’s Rosemary Cooper Diversity and Inclusion Award; the Australian Office of Learning and Teaching National Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning; and a Vice Chancellor’s OCTAL award for outstanding contribution to teaching and learning. Prior to academia, Trish practiced for over 10 years within the community legal sector and continues her strong commitment to advancing social justice through her research and leadership.
UOW Law has attracted highly qualified staff from Universities in Australia and overseas and from legal practice. We have a reputation for innovative research and have established, as our research concentrations, the Legal Intersections Research Centre - researches at the intersections between law and other academic disciplines and the Transnational Law and Policy Centre - boldly tackles the challenges presented through the UN SDGs to embrace and drive change.
