Faculty of Education and Arts staff at ACU

Meet the academic staff working hard to support you at ACU's Faculty of Education and Arts. Explore their areas of expertise, including research and publication history, or find them on our staff directory.

Faculty of Education and Arts

Executive staff

Professor Mary Ryan

Executive Dean

Professor Mary Ryan is Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education and Arts at ACU. She is President of the New South Wales Council of Deans of Education and Chair of the Education Research Council for Australian Independent Schools New South Wales. She is a Principal Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and is the recipient of a national citation for outstanding contributions to student learning. She is currently leading Australian Research Council funded projects in classroom writing and preparing reflexive teachers for diverse classrooms. Her research is in the areas of writing pedagogy and assessment, reflective writing, teachers’ work and professional learning, the enabling and constraining conditions for graduating students to manage the demands of their profession, and reflexive learning and practice.

Professor Jan Seruga

Deputy Dean of Education and Arts, Acting Director Western Civilisation Program

Professor Seruga is Fellow of the Australian Computer Society, a member of Australian Mathematical Society and a member of the Community of Associate Deans Research in Education. Prior to his current roles, he made a significant contribution to leadership at ACU as Deputy Head, National School of Arts and Humanities and Associate Dean Research. His research interests are information systems in education and computer security.

Professor Iain Hay

Associate Dean, Partnerships

Professor Iain Hay is an alumnus of ACU completing his first two degrees in Brisbane. Over his career he has been responsible for policy development and program management for government in Indigenous education; gender and equity; student welfare and support services; STEM, early education, and education facilities research. He has enabled tenders and partnerships with IBM on global AI curriculum, with Microsoft and TAFE NSW, ACECQA, AITSL, NSW Department of Education, several Catholic Dioceses, and multiple schools. He also has extensive experience working in early childhood, primary and middle school settings, as well as many years of experience as an academic, researcher and adult educator. He leads the Learning and Leadership Enterprise (LLE) which is focused on the development of short courses and professional learning opportunities, as well as innovative pathways in Initial Teacher Education.

Professor Donna King

National Head, School of Education

Professor Donna King began her career as a science, mathematics and religion teacher in secondary Catholic schools moving into tertiary teaching as a science educator. Her PhD was in context-based teaching in Chemistry and a body of research followed spanning four interconnecting fields: context-based science education, the emotional engagement of students in science in the middle years, the use of engineering contexts for teaching STEM and STEM-industry partnerships in schools.

Professor Joy Damousi

Dean, National School of Arts and Humanities and Director, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences

Professor Joy Damousi is an award-winning scholar of memory and war, the history of emotions, and migration history in relation to refugees, humanitarianism and internationalism. She is one of Australia’s most distinguished historians and public intellectuals, and a leader in the humanities in Australia and internationally. In 2022 Professor Damousi was made a Member (AM) in the Order of Australia for significant service to social sciences and the humanities, to history and to tertiary education.

Associate Professor Jennifer Carpenter

Associate Dean Learning and Teaching

Associate Professor Jennifer Carpenter has a disciplinary background in medieval history and completed her doctorate in Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto. Before moving into her current role, Associate Professor Jennifer Carpenter held leadership roles in the School of Arts (NSW) since 2008 and taught in the History and Communication sequences of the school. Her research interests lie in medieval narrative, biographical and hagiographical sources.

Professor Clarence Ng

Associate Dean, Research

Professor Clarence Ng has worked in ACU’s Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education since 2013, and has been appointed to the position of Associate Dean, Research for the Faculty of Education and Arts in 2022. He has outstanding experience in research leadership, and had secured more than $2M in research grants, as well as being published in numerous educational research publications. He has been an Australian Research Council (ARC) grant assessor since 2011 and was an expert reviewer for the ARC Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) in 2018.

Meet our teaching staff

School of Education

Our staff have accumulated years of experience teaching at a tertiary level and in childcare centres and schools across Australia and internationally.

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National School of Arts and Humanities

Each of our teaching staff brings specialist knowledge to the National School of Arts and Humanities to encourage and inspire students across a broad range of degrees.

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Get in touch with us

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Community impact

See how our faculty students and staff are making an impact through empathy, both in Australia and overseas.

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Alumni and friends

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Experience the classroom

Find out about our student placement opportunities for students in the Faculty of Education and Arts.

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Faculty staff