Professor Jeanette Hacket has been appointed to the position of vice-chancellor of Curtin University, the first woman to lead the University since its creation in 1986.
She will take the position upon Prof Lance Twomey's retirement from office in April, until a new vice-chancellor is appointed to the role later in the year.
Prof Hacket joined Curtin in the School of Business Law as a senior tutor in 1980 and worked her way up to associate professor before taking up the position of Head of International Programs in the Curtin Business School in 1991.
She was appointed to pro-vice chancellor International and Enterprise in 2002 before her appointment to deputy vice-chancellor in 2004.
The news of her appointment comes following a hectic couple of months in which Curtin and Murdoch universities decided not to proceed with their proposed merger on the grounds that the outcomes from the merger may not justify the cost.
At the time Prof Hacket said the "reprofiling" of staff and the rationalisation of physical facilities were two of the biggest cost areas associated with the merger.
Even though the merger fell through, there has been talk of increased collaboration in research and undergraduate activities within minerals, metallurgy, science and agriculture areas.
The universities already collaborate in these areas, for instance through the Parker Cooperative Research Centre for Integrated Hydrometallurgy, which is currently based at Murdoch but plans to relocate to Curtin.