Farewell to Professor Elizabeth Labone

Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education and Arts, Professor Elizabeth Labone, will depart ACU next month after 20 years of service to the university. Her final day will be 12 March.

Professor Labone will be taking up a new opportunity with the University of Notre Dame, where she has been appointed as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Science, Law and Business.

Professor Labone came to ACU in 2000, initially as a lecturer in the Faculty of Education (NSW). She has since held various leadership roles within the School of Education, including Assistant Head of School NSW (Research), Director Higher Degree Research within the Faculty of Education, Head of Education NSW/ACT, and National Head of School of Education

Since becoming Executive Dean, Faculty of Education and Arts in early 2019, Professor Labone has led the faculty through significant change and strategic development.

Key initiatives she has led include the Teach for Australia partnership, the renewal of undergraduate teacher education programs, leadership of the Rome symposiums, and expansion of international development including the delivery of teacher development in Kiribati and on the Thai-Burma border. She has also been instrumental in introducing the Ramsay Program in Western Civilisation.

Professor Labone has contributed in many meaningful and significant ways to ACU. She has worked closely with government and stakeholders to influence education policy, ensuring high-quality teacher education programs at ACU to benefit our students’ employment and continued success in the education sector. Most recently, she has supported the university’s innovation strategy as Chair of the Student Experience and Retention Committee.

Among her many activities in the broader education sector, Professor Labone holds executive positions on a range of boards. She has held positions as Non-Executive Director of the Sydney Catholic Schools Ltd and Loreto Normanhurst, and she is an Executive Member of the Board of Australian Council of Deans of Education.

Professor Labone is also a member of the Council of Deans of Education in Victoria, NSW and Queensland, and has recently been appointed by the Minister of Education to the National Schools Resourcing Board for the National Catholic Education Commission.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Zlatko Skrbis said, “Professor Labone has served ACU for 20 years most capably with diligence, expertise and skill. She has contributed extensively to the university in teaching, research, and building valuable relationships with some of our most important stakeholders. I am confident Elizabeth will make a wonderful contribution in her new role and wish her very well.”

Deputy Provost Professor Meg Stuart said Professor Labone would be greatly missed.

“Elizabeth has demonstrated strong leadership and significant capability in all of her roles over the past 20 years, confirming her commitment to Catholic education. She has made an outstanding contribution to ACU and the sector.

“All of us who have worked closely with Elizabeth will miss her greatly.”

We thank Professor Labone for her contributions to ACU and wish her every success in the future.

In the interim period between Professor Labone’s departure and the appointment of a new Executive Dean, the new Provost Professor Belinda Tynan will lead the Faculty of Education and Arts.