Celebrating our AdvanceHE Fellows

ACU together with the Learning and Teaching Centre (LTC), are celebrating a milestone of having more than 75 successful fellowship applications across the faculties and university.

Since June, AdvanceHE has awarded 21 Fellowships across ACU: one Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 11 Fellows of the Higher Education Academy, and nine Senior Fellows of the Higher Education Academy. Congratulations to all.

AdvanceHE recently reached the milestone of awarding over 150,000 Fellowships worldwide. AdvanceHE (previously the Higher Education Academy or HEA), provides formal recognition of professional practice in higher education teaching and learning support, through awarding Fellowships to academics, university teachers and higher education professionals. An AdvanceHE Fellowship can provide international, professional and peer recognition of your experience and expertise in university teaching, learning and the student experience.

The LTC provides support by developing your application through a structured bi-annual Fellowship Program consisting of online workshops and individual mentoring. Each of these applicants is paired with a mentor from our existing cohort of Fellows, who then go on to become mentors to the next group of potential Fellows following their own success.

You can view a full list of our mentors on the Fellowship Mentors at ACU webpage.

Why apply for fellowship?

We could not have achieved these numbers without the support and generosity of our dedicated mentors. A few of our experienced mentors and new Fellows, some of who have since become mentors themselves, shared their learnings from the application process.

Dr Kerry Ttofari Eecen (FHEA), Lecturer in Speech Pathology, was among the first cohort of Fellows at ACU and has been a mentor in two subsequent rounds. “I was able to reflect on my own teaching practices and consider areas of strength and areas of future growth. I found this experience valuable and wanted to encourage my peers to go through the same process for their professional growth. Becoming a Fellow is highly regarded and can be used as evidence for future career advancement,” said Kerry.

Sharon Crosbie (FHEA), Senior Lecturer in Speech Pathology, was mentored by Dr Kerry Ttofari Eecen and recently awarded a Fellowship. “I learnt a new framework for thinking about approaches to student learning including ways to evaluate the effectiveness of my teaching and promote participation,” said Sharon.

Dr Melissa Cain (SFHEA), Lecturer in the School of Education, was recently awarded a Senior Fellowship and is now guiding a mentee. “The process of preparing a Fellowship application is a wonderful way to purposefully document my growth as a teacher, researcher, and leader,” said Melissa. 

The benefits of mentoring

Dr John Mahoney (SFHEA), Senior Lecturer in the School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, achieved recognition at the beginning of 2020 and is mentoring for the third time. “I’ve found the experience powerfully important. INSPIRE has taught me a lot about what we could do, but my three mentees have taught me about how we could do it… I feel like I’ve learnt more from them than they have from me," John said of his approach to mentoring.

John’s mentee Dr Beth McLeod (FHEA), Lecturer in Exercise Science, shared how much she valued this mentorship process. “(Mentoring is) a unique opportunity to work with and be guided by a more experienced colleague with a friendly, helpful and approachable demeanour,” said Beth.

On reflecting on what she has learned from the process of mentoring, Dr Kerry Ttofari Eecen (FHEA) said, “I have been able to develop my ability to provide constructive feedback to colleagues which can differ from the type of feedback given to students. This is a fundamental aspect of leadership, a current area of development for me.”

If you are interested in applying for an AdvanceHE Fellowship, please visit the AdvanceHE Fellowships at ACU page for more information or contact Dr Vanessa Fredericks, Senior Lecturer in Academic Development, at Fellowships.LTC@acu.edu.au.

New HEA Fellows

• Associate Professor Jane Butler, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Associate Professor Sharon Croxford, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Dr Melissa Cain, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Education and Arts
• Dr John Oldroyd, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Dr Kunle Ola, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Law and Business, 
• Dr Jodi Sita, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences, 
• Mrs Peta Harbour, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Dr David Salisbury, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Learning and Teaching Centre
• Dr Jackie Stevens, Faculty of Health Sciences, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• Mr James Sikkema, Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences 
• Dr Janine Luttick, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
• Dr Sharon Crosbie, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Dr Liam Johnson, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Dr Alyse Wilcox, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Mrs Cath Emmerson, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Dr Beth McLeod, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Dr Stephanie Kondos, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Dr Nia Luxton, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Dr Joel Garrett, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences
• Mr Ahmed Hegazi, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Law and Business
• Mr Daniel Chalkley, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Faculty of Health Sciences