Professor Emeritus in the field of higher education teaching and learning at The University of Western Australia, Denise was awarded an OLT National Senior Teaching Fellowship on recognising and rewarding university teaching in 2015 and an Australian Award for University Teaching: Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning in 2014. In 2017 she was awarded Life membership by HERDSA.

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She has over 25 years demonstrated leadership in higher education, leading two university Centres of Teaching and Learning as Director and was a Foundation Director of the Carrick Institute (later ALTC) with responsibility for Awards, Fellowships and International Links. She has served as President and then as Vice President of the Council of Australian Directors of Academic Development (CADAD) 2008-14.

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Denise has provided significant university and sector-wide leadership through initiating and implementing enhancement initiatives including developing and embedding teaching quality criteria and indicators, assessment and curriculum review and reform, enhanced teaching and learning through the strategic use of online and communication technologies, promoting student focused teaching and learning practices, and identifying and promoting the use of teaching and learning performance indicators to guide decision making and resource allocation. She is a registered TEQSA expert. She has led and contributed to institution-wide reviews and evaluations of programs and organisational units as a consultant in higher education for over 30 years.

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Denise is an active contributor to the scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education through publications, proposing and participating in innovative and successful competitive grants and projects, speaking engagements and working with networks and institutions nationally and internationally. Denise contributes to the national and international agenda on developing and enhancing teaching and learning and criteria, standards and indicators of quality in higher education.

Previous positions

• Professor and Director, Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL). The University of Western Australia (2008-2015)

• Foundation Director, Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (renamed ALTC) with specific responsibility for Awards, Fellowships and International Links. Special Project: Teaching and learning quality indicators. (2006 – 2008)

• Director, Teaching and Educational Development Institute (TEDI), University of Queensland. (1997 – 2006)

• Head / Senior Lecturer / Senior Instructional Designer, Resources Development, University Learning Systems, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia (1995 – 1997)

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Teaching awards

• Teaching Fellowship Award for Excellence in Teaching (Edith Cowan University) 1992

• Award for Excellence in the Leadership of Academic Development (University of Western Australia) 2013

• Australian Awards for University Teaching: Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2014) for 25 years of scholarly innovation and leadership to enhance student learning and engagement through developing university teachers and teaching

• National Senior Teaching Fellowship (2015-17): Recognising and rewarding teaching: Australian teaching criteria and standards and expert peer review

• Honorary Life Member of HERDSA (2017)