After a competitive selection process which included a number of applicants from outside the Higher Education sector, UNE has confirmed appointments for three new Executive Principal positions to guide the University’s Future Fit strategy. Congratulations to the appointees to these new roles, who will play an essential part in guiding the University into a future that promises to be both challenging and fulfilling.
Vice-Chancellor and CEO, Professor Brigid Heywood
Professor Steven Warburton, Executive Principal, Education Futures.
Steven is a passionate and energetic senior executive with over 25 years of experience working as an academic, researcher, project director and senior leader across the international higher education landscape. Steven’s work has maintained a strong focus on digital transformation and the strategic deployment of technologies to enhance learning, teaching and assessment; promote wider access to education; improve student success and academic progress; promote active citizenship and embed lifelong employability skills. Steven’s career reflects a personal commitment to the value of education as a positive force for change in enhancing social, human, and economic capital in an often-challenging global setting.
I am greatly looking forward to leading the division of Education Futures as Executive Principal and working with colleagues across the university in delivering value and success as we drive forward the Future Fit strategy.
Professor Shelley Kinash, Executive Principal, Student Experience.
Prof. Kinash is a Principal Fellow, Higher Education Academy (PFHEA). Her PhD is in Education Technology from the University of Calgary, Canada. Principles guiding her work are: distributed leadership; widening participation; personalised student learning/career journeys; and joined-up education from the core of co/curriculum and assessment. Her student experience leadership is richly informed by her 30-year portfolio as a Disability Studies scholar, Faculty of Education academic and university-wide leader of learning and teaching at multiple universities. She co/led three high-impact national OLT research/practice initiatives on postgraduate student experience, graduate employability and student evaluation.
Anthony Smith, Executive Principal, Brand Partnerships and Business Development.
Anthony has worked in senior strategy, planning, brand and marketing roles within Australian Universities for the last twenty-two years and has won several national awards for his work. Prior to working in universities, Anthony worked in marketing roles within the advertising and retail sectors. Anthony is registered as a Certified Practising Marketer and Fellow with the Australian Marketing Institute.
UNE’s Future Fit Strategic Plan is the strongest and most robust university strategic plan I have seen over my 22 years in the sector. If implemented well, it will position UNE for a sustainable future and one in which we make a material positive difference to the communities we serve. I am committed to making that a reality.