Prof Simon Haines
Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts
Educated in Iraq, England and Australia, Simon took a BA (Hons 1, University Medal) at the Australian National University and a DPhil in English literature at the University of Oxford. He worked as a banker in London and then as a diplomat and analyst with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of National Assessments. He led the OECD Budget Committee as Chairman from 1985-1987. Simon then taught English Literature at the Australian National University from 1990 to 2008, where he also served as Head of the School of Humanities.
In 2009 he was appointed Chair Professor and Head of English at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he also served as Director of the Research Centre for Human Values. He is a Founding Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of the Humanities and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales. From 2017 to 2024 he served as the inaugural CEO of the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation in Sydney, helping to shape national conversations about the study of Western civilisation and the renewal of humanities education.
Simon is the author or editor of five books including the prizewinning Companion to European Romanticism, as well as many articles on literature and philosophy. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Australian Catholic University. In 2026 he was appointed as the Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts at Campion College Australia.