I retired from the University in 2008. At the time of my retirement I was the Pro Vice Chancellor of the Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences. As an academic my main interests were reasoning in natural language and the philosophy of science. As a senior manager I took a particular interest in strategic planning, quality assurance and improvement and industrial relations. I was a member of the Australian Association of Philosophers and an auditor for the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA). I chaired the 2002 AUQA audit of the Australian Catholic University, was a member of the Sydney University audit panel in 2004 and chaired the audit of Victoria University in 2006.

Since retirement I have returned to what has been one of the preoccupations of philosophers since Locke: defending science from ideological attack.

I am an Adjunct Professor in the Division of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Students and Education) at the University of Tasmania.

With Prof Eleanor Ramsay I have founded Education Ambassadors, a voluntary organisation which encourages Tasmanian community leaders to promote the importance of all young people completing their year schooling to year 12.