Professor Richard Rigby was a UTS:ACRI Advisory Board member.
He is an Emeritus Professor in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. Professor Rigby joined Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs in 1975, where he worked until the end of 2001: postings included Tokyo, Beijing (twice), Shanghai (Consul-General 1994–1998), London, and Israel (Ambassador, 2000–2001). He then joined the Office of National Assessments as Assistant Director-General, responsible for North and South Asia, where he worked until taking up the position of Founding Director of the ANU China Institute in April 2008. Following the creation of the Australian Centre on China in the World, he was concurrently Associate Director, CIW, until his retirement in April 2018. He was then appointed Emeritus Professor in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.
While engaged in government work, Professor Rigby continued to pursue his academic interests with a series of translations, book reviews and articles on China-related topics. His personal interests in Chinese studies are primarily literary and historical, but his profession has ensured a thorough immersion in most aspects of contemporary China and other major Asian cultures.