Rate My Professor Andrew Smallridge

Professor Andrew Smallridge is an Emeritus Professor at Victoria University (VU) in Melbourne, Australia, in the College of Engineering and Science, following his retirement in January 2025 after a distinguished 34-year career. He earned his BSc (Hons) from Monash University in 1983 and his PhD from Monash University in 1987 under the supervision of Professor W. R. Jackson. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at Oxford University, Smallridge joined VU in 1991 as a Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Biology, advancing through promotions to Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor in the College of Engineering and Science, and full Professor in the VU First Year College. Throughout his career, he held senior leadership positions, including Associate Head of the School of Engineering and Science and Director of Teaching and Learning in the College of Engineering and Science. Smallridge specialized in synthetic organic chemistry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, authoring numerous peer-reviewed papers and reviews in international journals, securing competitive research grants, and co-authoring five international patents in collaboration with industry. His research supervision of BSc (Hons), MSc, and PhD students earned the VU Vice-Chancellor’s Citation for Research and Research Training (Research Team Category) in 2009. Major awards include the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) Citation for Services to the RACI and the Profession in 2007, joint winner of the RACI Green Chemistry Challenge Award (Academic/Government Section) in 2009, and joint nomination for the State Victoria Prize in 2009.

As Foundation and Executive Dean of the VU First Year College, Smallridge established the College and led the development and implementation of the VU Block Model, transforming VU into Australia’s first fully block-model university. His student-focused, visionary leadership drove exceptional outcomes in pass rates, retention, and student satisfaction, with the First Year College excelling in national Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) surveys. He fostered a collegial staff culture prioritizing student and staff welfare. Key publications encompass his chemistry research, such as “Optimisation of β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes with natural antimicrobial agents: thymol, carvacrol and linalool” (2018) and “The use of [Fe(CO)3NO]− for the carbonylation of primary, secondary and allylic halides” (1990), alongside education-focused works like “Rebuilding the first year experience, one block at a time” (2019, Student Success), “Students’ experiences of a first-year block model curriculum in higher education” (2021, Curriculum Journal), and “Micro-credentials through the eyes of employers: benefits, challenges and enablers of effectiveness” (2024, Education + Training). Smallridge’s contributions have had lasting impact on higher education pedagogy and chemical research.