Dr. Donald E. Edgar (born 1936) was the Foundation Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Under his leadership the Institute had a profound influence on the Government of Australia regarding family policy, family and work, welfare policy and family law. He continues to contribute to Australian thinking in these areas through his own consulting practise and as an occasional columnist and commentator in the Australian media, particularly The Age and The Australian. Career Edgar had been Professor in Sociology and Education at the University of Chicago, Reader (Assistant Professor) in Sociology at La Trobe University and Adjunct Professor with RMIT University's Centre for Workplace Culture Change. He has been a member of the Victorian Children's Council since 1996, and is an Ambassador for NARI, the National Ageing Research Institute. His topics of interest include: Australian national identity in a globalised world Business partnerships and community networks Children, schools and the knowledge economy Men as fathers and managing work-family responsibilities The changing nature of community, family and work Ageing and ageing policy Edgar was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours. Publications Art for the Country: The story of Victoria's regional art galleries, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2019 PEAK: Reinventing middle age, co-authored with Patricia Edgar, Text Publishing, 2017 The New Child: In search of smarter grown-ups, co-authored with Patricia Edgar, Wilkinson Publishing, 2008 War over work: the future of work and family, 2005, Melbourne University Press The Patchwork Country: Rethinking Government, Rebuilding Community, Harper Collins, 2001 Promoting the positive: family-community resourcing as a model for family services, 1999 Men, Mateship, Marriage, 1997, Harper Collins Ageing, everybody's future, 1991 Seen but not heard: eye-opening insights into the lives of young, 1989 Australian families and their children: a new and challenging audience, c1985 Possible directions for an Australian family policy, 1980 Introduction to Australian society: a sociological perspective, 1980, Prentice-Hall Possible directions for an Australian family policy, 1980 Defining rural schools disadvantage 2: collected papers on rural education, 1979 Social class differences and the structure of education, 1976 Schools Commission and rural disadvantage, 1975 Preparing teachers for change, 1975 Adolescent competence and sexual disadvantage, 1974 Competence for girls?, 1972 Examination marks: their use and interpretation, 1964, Hall's School organization and colleague relationship, nd Australia and Her Northern Neighbours, Hall's, 1962 Jointly The New Child: In search of smarter grownups, 2008, with Patricia Edgar,