Nicola Phillips is a British academic and administrator. She was appointed inaugural vice-chancellor of Adelaide University in Adelaide, South Australia, in January 2026, after thirty years' of academic and leadership experience at universities in the UK and Australia.

Early life and education

Nicola Phillips completed her undergraduate degree in Hispanic studies at King's College London, going on to earn first a master's degree in comparative government and a PhD in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Career

Phillips held academic and leadership positions at the Universities of Warwick, Manchester, and Sheffield, before being appointed vice-president and vice-principal (education) at King's College London. She was also professor of political economy at KCL.

She has held visiting fellowships and professorships across the world, including the Australian National University, the University of British Columbia, and the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México. Her research and teaching has focused on global political economy, in particular global economic governance, labour and migration in the global economy, and global inequality.

Phillips was appointed provost at the University of Melbourne in September 2021. She also held positions as both acting and interim vice-chancellor at the university during her tenure there,

In June 2025 her appointment as inaugural vice-chancellor of the newly-formed Adelaide University (created by merging the University of Adelaide and University of South Australia) was announced by the university, after a global search. Her new role started with the official opening of the university on 29 January 2026, when she succeeded co-vice-chancellors Peter Høj and David Lloyd, who had served during the transitional phase of the merger. Her appointment was agreed unanimously by unanimous vote of the Adelaide University Transition Council. Chancellor Pauline Carr said that the appointment reflected the new university's maintenance of a global outlook, while also serving South Australia.

Other roles and activities

Phillips has been editor of the Review of International Political Economy, and editor and editor-in-chief of New Political Economy. As of 2021 she was a member of several editorial and advisory boards of various journals and book series, including Review of International Studies, International Affairs, and the Cambridge Studies in International Relations series. She was also a contributor to International Affairs.

In 2014 she was member of the Research Excellence Framework sub-panel for Politics and International Studies, and from 2015 to 2016 she was chair of the British International Studies Association

As of 2026[update] Phillips is a member of Chief Executive Women.

Honours and awards

External links

  • (interview, ABC Radio National, 19 January 2026.