Leadership
Leadership
Board of Directors
Academic Board Members
Dr Scott Dickson
CEO Higher Education
PhD (UNE), MEd (UOW), BEd (Physical and Health Education) (UOW)
Assoc Prof Beulah Moses
General Manager Higher Education Quality
BEng., MIT, MBA, PhD (AI and Comp Eng.), Grad Cert Tertiary Education
Professor Ian Rouse
Chair, Course Advisory Committee, Dean, Higher Education
BSc Hons( Biomed Science), Grad Dip Health Science, Dip Proj Mgmnt, PhD (Epidemiology)
Elena Shifrina (Lena)
General Manager, Higher Education Operations
B.Ling. & CCC, Grad Dip IHM, Grad Cert Couns
Emeritus Professor Annabelle Duncan
Independent Chair
BSc Otago U, NZ; MSc Otago U, NZ; PhD La Trobe; PSM, FTSE, FRSN
Emeritus Professor Annabelle Duncan is a Microbial Ecologist by training, who was educated at Otago University in New Zealand, La Trobe University, and Monash University. She has completed a Senior Executive Management course at Harvard University as well as the Director’s course and the Advanced Diploma from the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She worked sixteen years at CSIRO, initially as a research scientist and later in science management. As the Chief of CSIRO Molecular Science for six years, she supervised the spin-off of six start-up companies.
From 2005–2007 she was Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Bio21 Institute at the University of Melbourne. From 2007–2010 she was the Executive Director, Science Collaboration at the Biosciences Research Centre, a joint venture between La Trobe University and the Victorian Department of Primary Industries.
Emeritus Professor Duncan has acted as an adviser to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on biological weapons control and in this capacity represented Australia at international arms control meetings. She was awarded a Public Service Medal in 1996 and an Honorary DSc from Murdoch University in 2005 for her work in arms control. She has also served as a biological weapons inspector with the United Nations in Iraq.
In 2019 she was awarded an Honorary DSc from La Trobe University for achievements in academia and contributions to science.
Emeritus Professor Duncan joined the University of New England in late 2010, initially as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research). She later became the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and in late 2014 was appointed the Vice-Chancellor, serving in this role until mid-2019.
She currently serves as a non-executive director on boards and chairs the NSW Physical Sciences Fund.
Professor Peter Ryan
Shareholders' Representative
B Com (Merit), UOW; Grad Dip App Corp Gov, GIA D Prof (Trans St), CQU; FCPA
Emeritus Professor Toni Downes
Independent Member
BEd (USyd), MEd (UToronto, Canada), PhD (WSU). FACE, GAICD.
Emeritus Professor Downes has worked with universities, educational systems, and schools, for nearly 40 years. She is a highly experienced senior educational leader, having had long term leadership roles at two universities.
In 2018 she retired from the role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic at Charles Sturt University, having also served as an Executive Dean in earlier years. In her senior executive roles in higher education, she has demonstrated ability at the organisational and sector levels in strategic planning, governance, change management, financial management, quality assurance and stakeholder engagement, particularly with governments, professions, and Indigenous organisations and communities.
Emeritus Professor Downes professional and research interests focus on improved educational outcomes in universities and schools in the effective use of digital technologies, in gender and technology, and in teacher education policy and practice.
Her work included numerous research and professional projects, over 70 publications, international and national professional presentations and workshops and over $1 million in grants and consultancies. She has been a keynote or distinguished speaker at international conferences in New Zealand, USA, England, Switzerland, Hungary, PNG, Thailand, Hong Kong, Wales, China, Finland and Norway.
She currently serves as a non-executive director on a number of boards, as a member of academic boards and advisory committees, and as an external consultant and reviewer of educational programs and organisational units.
Emeritus Professor Anne Cummins
Independent member
BEd (Canberra CAE); MA (MQ); GradDipEd (Catholic College of Education Sydney), MEDL (ACU); GAICD
Emeritus Professor Cummins has extensive experience in educational leadership and governance and has served on several incorporated and advisory Boards including the ACT Board of Studies, The Australian Catholic University Senate Limited, Marymead Child and Family Services Limited, Marist Youth Care Limited, St Edmunds’ College Canberra Limited, the Council of St Ignatius College Riverview Limited and Sydney College of Divinity Limited.
From 2009 to 2018 she served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Learning and Teaching) at the Australian Catholic University and before that as Dean of Students at the Australian Catholic University in 2008 and 2009.
Emeritus Professor Cummins worked for many years in the Catholic secondary education system as a teacher and secondary college principal in New South Wales and the ACT. She is currently a Director of Catholic Schools NSW Limited, the Chair and Director of Catholic Employment Relations Limited, The Chair of the Stewardship Commission of the Sisters of St Joseph.
Dr John Jenkins
Independent Member
Chair Of The Academic Board
Assoc. Dip. Hort. (HAC), BA (UNE), BA(Hons) (UNE), PhD (UNE), GAICD
Professor Dawn Bennett
Independent member
PhD, ALTF, PFHEA
Professor Bennett is Assistant Provost and Director of the Transformation CoLab with Bond University. She is an experienced senior leader, an educational reformist, and a passionate educator. Dawn’s expertise is the enhancement of student success and graduate employability through data-driven approaches to student retention and engagement, teaching, curricular reform and work-integrated learning.
Dawn is also a staunch advocate for student equity and addressing the impacts of disadvantage. She has a long history of respectful partnerships with first nations communities and is co-author of a national Framework for Respectful Work and Learning with Australia’s First Peoples. Dawn is an internationally known researcher with a world-class publication record. Her EmployABILITY Thinking initiative engages over 60 institutions globally and the dataset is now the biggest collection of student-derived confidence data in the world.
Dawn is also a passionate educator. She has won a national citation and Australian national teaching award and she is a Senior National Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow. Dawn is a Principal Fellow with the Higher Education Academy and Vice President of the Australian Learning and Teaching Fellows.
Dawn is heavily involved with governance and compliance with Bond University and is a member of the executive committees. She is an eternal member of two academic boards and one course quality committee. Dawn’s fields of education are Education, the Arts, and Business.
Adjunct Professor Sally Robertson
Independent Member
RN; BN(UNE); MEd(Adult)(UTS); GCHigherEd(Macq); FCN; FHEA.
Adjunct Professor Robertson is an experienced academic with over 25 years experience in higher education. Adjunct Professor Robertson was the Dean of the School of Nursing, Sydney at the University of Notre Dame(UNDA) and prior to this the Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching. During her time in the School of Nursing she led both undergraduate and post graduate curriculum development, led the expansion of post graduate programs and engaged with industry partners to develop industry based graduate certificate programs. She has previously worked at a non self-accrediting higher education provider where she was responsible for program development and both internal and external accreditation.
Adjunct Professor Robertson has extensive experience in learning and teaching, curriculum development and stakeholder engagement. At UNDA she served on Academic Council, was the Chair of the Educational Technology Advisory group and the Chair of the University Learning and Teaching committee.
Adjunct Professor Robertson is passionate about nursing and education and has a keen interest in learning and teaching, curriculum development, standards and accreditation.
Emeritus Professor Jo-Anne Reid
Independent Member
BA. Dip Ed. UQ; BEd. PhD Deakin; GCertULT, Ballarat.
Professor Reid is Emeritus Professor of Education at Charles Sturt University. Prior to her retirement in 2018, she served as the Presiding Officer of the CSU Academic Senate, Associate Dean Teacher Education, and Head of the School of Teacher Education. She completed her professional qualifications at the University of Queensland and her PhD at Deakin University. After teaching with the Education Department of WA she worked casually at the University of Western Australia, Murdoch, Deakin, and Monash Universities while completing her doctorate, and then at the Universities of Ballarat and New England as a full time academic prior to joining Charles Sturt in 2002.
Professor Reid remains active as a researcher and publisher, and over her career has won a range of ARC and other National Competitive Grants focussed on literacy and English teaching, teacher education, Indigenous and overseas-born teachers, as well as rural teacher education. She has been co-editor of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education and has recently been appointed to the editorial board of this journal. She is a past president of the NSW Council of Deans of Education, the Australian Teacher Education Association, and the Australian Association for Research in Education.
Professor Reid has a keen interest in university governance and has led external review processes at the Course, School, Faculty, and Academic Board level across a range of Australian institutions.
Professor Ian Rouse
Chair, Course Advisory Committee, Dean, Higher Education
BSc Hons( Biomed Science), Grad Dip Health Science, Dip Proj Mgmnt, PhD (Epidemiology)
Associate Professor Michelle Cavaleri
Chair, Learning and Teaching Committee
BA Hons (Languages and Linguistics); MA (TESOL); PhD (Applied Linguistics)
Dr Mohamed Khalifa
Chair, Scholarship and Research Committee
MBBS, PGDip, MSc, PhD, MRCSEd, CPHIMS, FAIDH
Over 20 years, Dr Khalifa led multidisciplinary healthcare and information technology teams to develop and implement evidence-based solutions to direct healthcare strategy and operations of healthcare services. Using health analytics and business intelligence, Dr Khalifa led diverse projects, enhancing patient safety, healthcare effectiveness, efficiency, and timeliness. Over the last 10 years, Dr Khalifa published +50 journal papers and book chapters and was granted an innovation patent from IP Australia in 2018.
Before joining CHS, Dr Khalifa served as the Digital Health Officer of the Australian Digital Health Agency and as Researcher and Consultant of Healthcare Strategy and Analytics at Macquarie University, Sydney. Dr Khalifa was the Director of Healthcare Strategy and Performance Improvement at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Saudi Arabia. He also worked as Director and Instructor of the Healthcare Management Program at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Earlier to that, Dr Khalifa served diverse positions, focused mainly on healthcare strategic management and performance improvement, health informatics project management, healthcare business intelligence, and healthcare big data analytics.
Dr Khalifa is a medical doctor, got his MBBS – Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt in 2001, Post Graduate Diploma of Healthcare and Hospital Management from the American University in Cairo, Egypt in 2004, a MSc – Master of Science in Health Informatics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom in 2012, and a PhD in Health Innovation from Macquarie University, Sydney in 2020. Dr Khalifa is an FAIDH – Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health, an MRCSEd – Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, United Kingdom and he is also a CPHIMS – Certified Professional in Healthcare Information Management Systems, an Accredited CPHIMS Trainer and an Advisor on the Technical Committee of the CPHIMS exam, HIMSS – Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, United States. Dr Khalifa is also a member in the HIMSS and the AHIMA – American Health Information Management Association, United States.
Dr M. (Mohammad) Ashiqur Rahman
PhD, MEMDV, MEng, Beng
Dr M. Ashiqur Rahman has been a teacher and lecturer since 2001 and before joining APIC in 2018 has taught at Western Sydney University, Education Centre of Australia and the North South University in Bangladesh. Dr Rahman completed his undergraduate studies and Master of Civil Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering before pursuing a Master of Environmental Management at the Australian National University. Ashiq gained his PhD in Project and Environmental Management from the University of Sydney.