Professor David Gurr is a Professor of Educational Leadership in the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. Holding qualifications including B.Sc., Dip. Ed., Grad. Dip Ed. Counselling, M.Ed.Psych., and D.Ed., he has built a 45-year career in education, beginning as a teacher, school counsellor, and middle leader before joining the University of Melbourne as an academic in 1996. His responsibilities include preparing and teaching courses in educational leadership. He leads the Educational Leadership Academic Group and supervises graduate researchers on topics such as career progression of assistant principals and wellbeing literacy.

Gurr's research focuses on school leadership, including principal, middle leader, and system perspectives; school improvement; leadership for learning; successful school leadership; leadership in challenging contexts; teacher leadership; leadership preparation and development; and futures thinking in education. He is a founding member and leader of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP), the International School Leadership Development Network (ISLDN), and the ATLAS research group. With over 200 publications, more than 250 conference presentations, and involvement in 24 research grants exceeding $26 million, including an ARC Discovery grant, his work has significant impact. Key publications include 'Models of successful principal leadership' (2006, School Leadership and Management, 496 citations), 'Successful principal leadership: Australian case studies' (2005, Journal of Educational Administration, 366 citations), and 'A Model of Successful School Leadership from the International Successful School Principalship Project' (2017). Recent books co-edited include Educational Leadership Preparation and Development: An International and Future-Focused Perspective (2025), Technology and Digital Educational Leadership: The Future of Education (2025), and Servant Leadership in Educational Organisations (2025). He serves as associate editor of the Journal of Educational Administration and has edited Leading and Managing and International Studies in Educational Administration. A former Vice-President of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders, he received the ACEL Gold Medal in 2014.

Professional Email: d.gurr@unimelb.edu.au