ACADEMIC COMMITTEE FOR POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION

Chifley Business School—a business itself—is directed by a business-led Board.

Equally important, Chifley's Board has appointed an Academic Committee to be the paramount and independent body for setting and maintaining the highest academic standards for the postgraduate programs delivered by Chifley.

The Academic Committee:

Determines content, curriculum and assessment issues related to postgraduate programs,
Appoints Unit Chairs, Study Guide Authors and Chief Examiners,
Approves academic and administrative policies associated with the conduct of postgraduate programs,
Gives direction to Curriculum, Academic Review and Examiners Sub-Committees,
Advises on the development and delivery of new courses and units.

The Academic Committee is drawn from within Chifley Business School and the wider Higher Education sector and includes representatives from Unit Chairs and Study Guide Authors, and an Instructional Designer, in keeping with Chifley’s commitment to quality and accessibility in distance education.

Dr Barry Ritchie—Chairman

Dr Ritchie draws upon deep experience in industry and in the academic world.

Dr Ritchie is a former Chief Executive and Managing Director of Monash Mt Eliza Business School. His academic career has included teaching at the University of Melbourne, the University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology UK and appointments as Professor and Adjunct Professor in Management for the Graduate College of Management, Southern Cross University. He advises education authorities and institutions on matters related to business and management education accreditation, and has been Principal Academic Adviser to APESMA and Chifley since 2003.

Dr Ritchie’s industry experience includes roles of Executive Director of the Australian Coal Association and as project engineer for Carlton and United Breweries. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and of the Institution of Engineers, Australia.

Professor Rod McDonald

Professor McDonald has a distinguished background in the education and training of adults. He has held a variety of positions including Dean of Education at University of Technology, Sydney, manager of a national key research centre focusing on vocational education and training, and Special Advisor to the Australian National Training Authority, with a specific responsibility for initiating ‘blue sky’ thinking about vocational education and training.

Professor McDonald established Ithaca Group in 2001 and holds appointment as Emeritus Professor of the University of Technology, Sydney.

Dr David Wilkinson

Dr Wilkinson was appointed as Associate Dean (International and External Programs) in April 2004. Prior to this appointment, he was Deputy Head of School and Program Director with the Graduate School of Management at La Trobe. He joined La Trobe in 1986 as a Lecturer in the (then) School of Economics.

Prior to joining La Trobe, he had extensive experience as a labour market economist, working for both the State and Federal governments, as well as working as an economist for several private sector consulting firms. He has written for the OECD on regulatory issues and has undertaken extensive consulting with public sector organisations, presented papers at a number of international conferences and has a number of refereed journal articles.

His current research interests include government regulatory issues, trade union legislation and cost-benefit analysis.

Dr Richard White

Dr White is a Senior Lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Richard has worked in many industries: iron and steel, coal, pharmaceuticals, water and wool. He has worked on water supply and wastewater treatment projects in the UK, and as the Technical Manager in a wool scouring and carbonising company. His teaching areas include environmental engineering, sustainability and engineering management systems. His additional research interests include reactor design and operation.

Professor Stuart Orr

Stuart Orr is Professor in Business and Law at Deakin University, and has previously held positions including at Monash University and the Universities of Cambridge and of Munich.

Professor Orr's areas of teaching and research are strategic management, operations and technology management, organisational behaviour and international education management. Professor Orr regularly presents executive level programs to industry. His research projects have been conducted in both the Australian and international contexts and he has published the results of his work widely in magazines, industry reports, refereed journal articles and a teaching text.

Professor Orr has also operated a management consulting firm.

Michele Lucas

Michele Lucas leads Chifley's Design and Development Team, which has responsibility for the design, development and production of a range of learning and assessment materials, including online and print resources to support learning and assessment through Chifley's postgraduate and vocational education and training programs.

Michele Lucas works closely with Study Guide Authors, Unit Chairs and assessors to ensure the quality of the learning materials and to optimise students' learning experiences. Her previous experience has involved working in teacher, workplace and adult education, including at Deakin University, and she has designed training programs and curricula for a range of industries.

Neil Edwards

As Chief Executive Officer, Chifley Business School, Mr Edwards provides leadership to the Chifley team. Among other things, he is currently directing a project to develop a new learning and assessment model for graduate education in management capability.