PRO VICE CHANCELLOR'S OFFICE
The Pro Vice-Chancellors are senior members of the university’s executive leadership team who support the Vice-Chancellor in managing key academic, administrative, and strategic functions of the institution. Each Pro Vice-Chancellor typically oversees a specific portfolio such as academic affairs, research, planning, student services, or regional campuses.
The Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic & Research) is a key member of the university’s senior leadership, responsible for overseeing the quality, development, and delivery of academic programs across all faculties and campuses.
This role focuses on:
- Academic Policy and Standards: Ensuring that teaching, learning, and assessment meet national and international quality benchmarks.
- Curriculum Development: Leading the design, review, and enhancement of academic programs to align with industry needs and global trends.
- Faculty Support: Working closely with deans and academic staff to promote teaching excellence, innovation, and professional development.
- Student Learning: Enhancing the student academic experience through improved learning resources, technologies, and support systems.
The Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) plays a vital role in shaping the university’s academic vision and maintaining a high standard of education that prepares students for meaningful careers and lifelong learning.
Profile: Mr. Peter Navus
Position: Acting Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic & Research)
Institution: Papua New Guinea University of Natural Resources & Environment (PNGUNRE)
Academic Qualifications:
- Master’s Degree – University of Reading, United Kingdom (1988)
- Post Graduate Diploma (UQ)
- Bachelor of Agriculture (UPNG)
Professional Responsibilities:
Mr. Navus plays a pivotal role in the academic leadership and research development at PNGUNRE.
His key responsibilities include:
- Providing strategic direction for academic programs and research initiatives
- Collaborating with the Vice Chancellor & CEO to implement university policies
- Overseeing curriculum development, faculty recruitment, and student engagement
- Monitoring and supporting research activities, publications, and grants allocation
- Strengthening partnerships with external research institutions and industry stakeholders
- Chairing academic meetings and contributing to university governance
Mr. Navus’s leadership ensures the university upholds high academic standards while fostering innovation and excellence in research.
The Pro Vice-Chancellor (Policy, Planning, & Development) is a senior executive responsible for leading and coordinating the university’s strategic and institutional planning efforts. This role ensures that the university’s goals and objectives are supported by data-driven decision-making and effective resource management.
Key responsibilities include:
- Strategic Planning: Developing and monitoring the university’s strategic plan in alignment with its mission, vision, and national priorities.
- Institutional Research and Analysis: Providing accurate data and analysis to guide academic planning, policy-making, and performance evaluation.
- Infrastructure and Resource Planning: Coordinating long-term development plans for facilities, ICT, and staffing to support academic and administrative growth.
- Policy Development: Supporting the formulation of policies that enhance institutional effectiveness and sustainability.
The Pro Vice-Chancellor (Planning) plays a critical role in shaping the future direction of the university and ensuring that it grows in a sustainable, accountable, and impactful way.
Dr. Livingstone Tavul, BSc, PGDSc, MMedSc, PhD
- Executive Summary
Executive Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Policy, Planning, & Development at the PNG University of Natural Resources and Environment from June 2021. Prior to joining the University Livingstone was a Senior Research Fellow, Lab Head of Molecular Parasitology, as well as deputy Unit Head of the PNG Institute of Medical Research Vector Borne Diseases Unit based in Madang, PNG.
Most of the research work he was involved with contributed to knowledge and the change in treatment polices and the control and management of malaria and filariasis in PNG and other endemic countries. His PhD was co-supervised by PIs from the Swiss Tropical Institute, Switzerland, and Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne. It was based on the monitoring of the efficacy of antimalarial drugs in PNG, focusing on the resistance of Artemisinin Combination therapies (Mala-1) to malaria. His work has now been adapted as well and implemented as a co-function of the National Malaria Control Program in PNG. Among other awards, he received a postdoctoral fellowship in 2019 through the Bio Venture for Global Health funded by AusAID through WIPRO/UNDP for an attachment with PATH Diagnostics, Seattle, USA. He was working there on the Market Dynamics and Landscaping of innovative diagnostic tools for the radical cure of vivax malaria in PNG. Livingstone is also the current Country Ambassador for the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) in PNG.
About
- Personnel statement
I am the Pro Vice Chancellor for Policy, Planning and Development at PNG UNRE since June 2021. My appointment to this position requires the oversight of strategic integrated development of the physical infrastructure of the university to ensure that the administrative and planning policies, processes, and systems are aligned for the achievement of the University’s Vision, Mission, and goals. PNG UNRE is a growing university, and the only one in the country that equips students to support the 80-90% rural population who entirely depend on agriculture. Under the current Senior Management team, we also embarking on strengthening Research capacity for our academics as well as building genuine, relevant and sustainable collaboration with partners within and abroad. In the long run, I envisage an attractive campus with unique characteristics in the next 5-10 years.
Publications – Most recent
2022 Manuscripts accepted for publication
Safety and efficacy of mass drug administration with a single-dose triple-drug regimen of albendazole + diethylcarbamazine + ivermectin for lymphatic filariasis in Papua New Guinea: an open-label, cluster-randomized trial
Livingstone Tavul et al; PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Unlocking the Global Antigenic Diversity and Balancing Selection of Plasmodium falciparum
Myo T et al, PLOS Computational Biology 2022
Selected publications
An open dataset of Plasmodium falciparum genome variation in 7,000 worldwide samples [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
Ambroise Ahouidi et al, Welcome Open Research 2021
A multicenter, community-based, mixed methods assessment of the acceptability of a triple drug regimen for elimination of lymphatic filariasis
Krentel A et al, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2021 l
Emergence of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum with kelch13 C580Y mutations on the island of New Guinea
Olivo O et al, PLOS Pathogens 2020
Implementing parasite genotyping into national surveillance frameworks: feedback from control programmes and researchers in the Asia–Pacific region
Rintis N et al, Mal J 2020
Efficacy of artemether–lumefantrine and Dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Papua New Guinea
Livingstone Tavul et al, Mal J, 2018