Professor Samuel Muller, Executive Dean for the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Macquarie, is also the new Executive Sponsor for the MQ Ally Network.
14 April 2025
Ten Questions : with Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Professor Samuel Muller 
For three decades, Professor Muller has provided pastoral care to many in the LGBTQI+ community in his capacity as a minister of religion, and in volunteer roles, which has shaped his approach to being an active Ally on campus.
In addition to these roles, Professor Muller has also recently commenced as Editor-in-Chief of The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Statistics, as a Professor of Statistics and Fellow of the American Statistical Association.
1) Something you would like readers to know about
I am deeply committed to ensuring everyone feels safe and well cared for, especially those who may not be able to reveal their true identities due to faith, cultural or societal environments. I welcome the expression of diversity and would like everyone to know the University is listening to what is said. I also support respectful conversation as a catalyst to genuinely care for one another.
I love that this is one of the four values in our current strategic framework Our University: A Framing of Dynamic Futures.
2) Something you feel proud of
I am proud of the success of the people I mentor and lead. They have tremendous talent, and it is just great when this translates to tangible outcomes.
3) A person you admire at Macquarie
There are so many. I was inspired by all those who were part of the first-ever Macquarie University float at the 2025 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival in March.
4) What you need to do your best work
Health, purpose, community, focus, time – to name just five ingredients. There are lots more and the ingredients are different for the different work I do.
5) A favourite photo from your camera roll
The most cherished photos capture moments that have deep personal meaning. When I scrolled through my camera roll, I wanted to find a photo that has meaning for this readership, and I have selected one of the photos I took walking our beautiful Wallumattagal Campus.
6) The first person you go to for advice
For general advice, my wife Martina, as she knows me better than anyone else and shares liberally her authentic and valuable perspective. For professional advice, I have a community of formal and informal mentors who give sound guidance.
7) What you like about where you live
I live in Darlington. It’s a buzzing, cosy, connected, quirky small suburb with Charlie’s Community Garden, Carriageworks and the Royal Hotel being three of many things that I like about it.
8) A personal quality you value in others
There are many qualities I appreciate, and I particularly value kindness. I highlight this quality in several settings to counter shifts in society that are fuelled by rhetoric and fear mongering. There is an increasingly divisive, and sometimes plainly cold, voice threatening basic human rights in some Western democracies.
9) Something you are trying to do differently in 2025
Maintaining a healthy routine. I joined the Macquarie University Sport and Aquatic Centre this year for the first time and aim to get my heart pumping early in the day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Last year, I struggled to keep up exercising and resolved that I want to get through this year without making excuses not to go to the gym regularly.
10) I am happiest when…
I can make a positive difference in partnership with others.
- with Bonnie Gardener
**