Peter David Rathjen

Peter David Rathjen was born on 12 February 1964 in Cambridge, England. Rathjen moved to South Australia in 1965 when he was a child. He was educated at Blackwood High School in Adelaide. He studied Science at the University of Adelaide, majoring in biochemistry and genetics, and completing an honours degree.

Rathjen was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to New College, Oxford in 1985. He was awarded a DPhil in 1987, and then worked as a postdoctoral researcher on embryonic stem cells from 1988 to 1990.

Rathjen returned to the University of Adelaide, where he worked as Lecturer in Biochemistry from 1990 to 1995 and Professor in Biochemistry from 1995 to 2006. He was appointed to the Chair of Biochemistry in 1995. He became Head of the Department of Molecular Biosciences in 2000, and became Foundation Executive Dean of the Faculty of Sciences in 2002, a role he kept until 2005.

He was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne in 2006; in 2008, he became Dean of the Graduate School of Science, and from 2008 to 2011 he served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research). 

In April 2011 Rathjen took up the role of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Tasmania. 

In 2018, Rathjen returned to the University of Adelaide in the role of Vice-Chancellor and President. 

In May 2020, Professor Rathjen took indefinite special leave. In the same week, South Australia’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) revealed he was conducting an investigation into allegations of misconduct by Professor Rathjen and the University’s handling of those allegations.

Professor Rathjen resigned as Vice-Chancellor at the end of July 2020, citing ill health.

In late August 2020, ICAC made a public statement of its findings against Professor Rathjen, which included findings that he had sexually harassed two staff members. The Commissioner found that Professor Rathjen was guilty of serious misconduct for the purposes of the ICAC Act.