20 Facts About Leonie Kramer

Leonie Kramer is notable as the first female professor of English in Australia, first woman to chair the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the first female chancellor of the University of Sydney.

Leonie Kramer was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and a Companion of the Order of Australia.

Leonie Kramer was educated at Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne, and entered the University of Melbourne in 1942, where she was a resident in the women's section of Trinity College, known as Janet Clarke Hall, and was awarded an AM White entrance scholarship.

Leonie Kramer took her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1945, and later attended Oxford University, where she graduated Doctor of Philosophy in 1953.

Leonie Kramer remained at UNSW until 1968, when she was appointed Professor of Australian Literature at the University of Sydney, the first female professor of English in Australia.

Leonie Kramer was Visiting Professor at Harvard University's Chair of Australian Literature Studies.

Leonie Kramer was an Emeritus Professor of Australian Literature at the University of Sydney.

Leonie Kramer was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1974.

Leonie Kramer edited the Oxford History of Australian Literature which did not receive good reviews.

Leonie Kramer served on numerous public bodies during her long career.

Leonie Kramer was the first woman to be appointed to the Chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, having served as a member of the ABC Board since 1977.

Leonie Kramer served as a senior fellow of the Institute of Public Affairs, a commissioner of the NSW Electricity Commission and chairman of the board of directors of the National Institute of Dramatic Art.

Leonie Kramer served on the boards of large corporations including Western Mining Corporation and ANZ Banking Group.

Leonie Kramer received honorary DLitt from the University of Tasmania and honorary LLDs from the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University.

Leonie Kramer was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1976.

Leonie Kramer was deputy chancellor of the University of Sydney from 1989 to 1991 and chancellor from 1991 to 2001, becoming the first woman to hold the position.

Leonie Kramer justified her comment stating that she herself "can go limp at times" and attributed it to nothing other than their individual choices.

Leonie Kramer retired moments before a controversial senate meeting was to take place to dismiss her.

Leonie Kramer married Harry Leonie Kramer, a South African pathologist, in England in 1952.

In 2011, following worsening health associated with advanced Alzheimer's disease, Leonie Kramer's daughters admitted her to Lulworth House for full-time residential care.