Honors College dean invested as Member of the Order of Australia

Graeme Harper, Ph.D., DCA, dean of the Donna and Walt Young Honors College at Oakland University, was recently invested as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), following his appointment to the honor in King Charles III’s Birthday Honours list in June.

Australian Ambassador to the United States, the Honorable Greg Moriarty AO (Officer of the Order of Australia), invested Harper during a September 28 ceremony at the Australian Ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C.

“This is an incredible honor that owes much to colleagues here at OU, as well as those around the world,” said Harper. “Ambassador Moriarty and his wife Sara, herself a highly accomplished diplomat, were gracious hosts, and the feeling in the room captured the strong bonds that exist between Australia and the United States. I was pleased to be there representing Oakland and the wonderful educational values we all celebrate.”

The award was announced June 8 through the release of the “King’s Birthday Honours List,” a major annual honors announcement in Australia celebrating King Charles III.

Nominations for the Order of Australia come directly from the community and are the pre-eminent way Australians recognize the achievements and service of their fellow citizens. All nominations are independently researched before being considered by the Council for the Order of Australia, which makes recommendations to Australia’s Governor-General, who officially announces the appointments. Honorees receive a medal and are encouraged to use the designation AM after their name.

Order of Australia medal

According to Harper, being recognized as a Member of the Order of Australia “provides a wonderful opportunity, and I am humbled, inspired and challenged. The award also says a whole lot about the generosity of colleagues. Imagine the selflessness of people who would submit and support a nomination that, even when successful, can take years to come to fruition.”

A distinguished higher education leader, academic and author, Harper is being recognized “for significant service to literature, to education, and to creative writing.” His career has been defined by teaching, research and creative expression in each of those domains.

Harper holds doctorates from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom and the University of Technology in Australia. His Doctor of Creative Arts is the first creative writing doctorate to be conferred in Australia. He has taught creative writing and edited numerous journals, including “New Writing: The International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing.”

He has published more than 50 books, including his most recent work of fiction, “Robots and Other People” (Parlor, 2026), and his latest critical work, the edited collection “Empathy in Creative Writing” (Palgrave, 2026).

Harper’s latest book, “What is Creative Writing?” (Bloomsbury), will be released in 2027, followed later in the year by his new novel, “The Green Child” (Parlor).

Regularly examining graduate theses, dissertations and research in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, across Europe and Asia, and in Africa, Harper is also deeply committed to undergraduate research and honors education. He served in national leadership roles at the Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR) for several years and has published multiple works about honors colleges and programs, including his 2024 title, “Advancing Honors for Today and Tomorrow.”

Harper is also an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (FRSM), the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) and the Royal Anthropological Institute (FRAI), all of which provide opportunities for collaborative work.

He arrived at Oakland University in late 2011 to become director and then dean of OU’s Honors College. Before that, he worked with colleagues to establish two new schools of study at universities in the United Kingdom and led both schools.

In the Australian honors system, appointments to the Order of Australia confer the highest recognition for outstanding achievement and service. For Harper, it is particularly gratifying to be recognized for service in the fields of literature, education and creative writing.

“You most often write books on your own, yet education frequently is a shared experience and we’re charged with bringing the individual and the community together,” he said. “I love writing fiction, I love thinking critically about how we go about sharing things through creative writing, and I love working with students in all fields of endeavor and with all interests, because we share such a belief in possibility. It is the encouragement of and support for possibility and curiosity and discovery that makes this appointment to the Order of Australia even more thrilling.”

Later this month, Harper will join Young Honors College staff and students in hosting the National Society for Minorities in Honors 11th annual conference. The October 22-23 event will focus on empathy and possibility in honors education.