Professor John Dewar, AO, is an Emeritus Professor at La Trobe University and a partner in Performance Improvement at KordaMentha.

He is a graduate of the University of Oxford, where he was also a Fellow of Hertford College from 1990-1995. He taught at the Universities of Lancaster and Warwick in the UK, and worked for the London law firms Allen & Overy and Farrer & Co. Professor Dewar came to Australia in 1995 and held senior leadership positions at Griffith University and the University of Melbourne, where he was Provost. He was Vice Chancellor of La Trobe University from 2012 to 2024 and Interim Vice Chancellor at the University of Wollongong from June 2024 to February 2025. Professor Dewar was Chair of Universities Australia from 2021-3 and was a member of the UA Board from 2016-2023.

He is an Honorary Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford, an Adjunct Professor in the La Trobe Law School, and a Visiting Professor at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University. Professor Dewar was made an Officer of the Order of Australian in the 2020 Australia Day Honours List in recognition of his distinguished service to education through leadership roles in the universities sector, and to professional organisations.