Professor Deborah West and Professor Michele Fleming will join Flinders in July as the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching Innovation) and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Life).
As PVC (LTI), Professor West will provide strategic leadership of education innovation and quality across the University, as well as being responsible for the leadership and management of the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT).
As PVC (Student Life), Professor Fleming will provide strategic leadership for the support of students and new graduates to ensure successful transition to university, completion of their studies, a rich and engaging student experience, and successful outcomes upon graduation.
Professor West has over 20 years of experience in higher education most recently as Director of Learning and Teaching at Charles Darwin University.
She has a strong track record of research and publication in both her disciplinary area of social work as well as in teaching and learning, and has previously received an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation for leadership in curriculum development.
Her learning and teaching innovation has encompassed technology mediated learning, learning analytics and academic leadership.
She has also led a number of ALTC, OLT and ARC funded projects including an OLT commissioned strategic project on the use of learning analytics for student retention completed in 2016.
Professor Fleming joins Flinders after a long and distinguished career at the University of Canberra (UC) where she is currently the Dean of Students with responsibility for academic and pastoral support of the University’s 17,000 students.
Professor Fleming has been responsible for developing and implementing the University of Canberra’s widening participation programs, and has won $2.85M in external competitive grants to support these programs over the past four years.
A former psychology academic, she is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ course and in a past life was the co-owner of three small, successful companies.
She has a record of extensive leadership and service to both the University and the community through her outreach work, as well as a strong national profile in student equity and employability outcomes for students.
Professor Fleming currently sits on the Advisory Committee for the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education and is Chair of the Universities Australia Work Integrated Learning Reference Group.