ACEL National Honorary Fellowship Awardee

Professor Peter Dawkins: National Honorary Fellowship Award
BSc (hons) (Loughborough), MSc (Econ) (London), PhD (Loughborough), FACEL (Hon)
 
Professor Dawkins became the third Vice-Chancellor and President of Victoria University on 19 January 2011. This followed six years in high level leadership roles for the Victorian Government, and twenty eight years in the university sector. He was Deputy Secretary of the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance (2005-2006) and Secretary of the Victorian Department Education and Early Childhood Development (2006-2010). He has held academic appointments in the UK and, since arriving in Australia in 1984, in a number of Australian universities. He holds a Ph.D. from Loughborough University in the UK, where he commenced his university teaching career. Professor Dawkins has expressed his commitment, through Victoria University, to transform the lives of students from very diverse educational, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, and through high quality teaching and learning. In his previous high level roles in Universities and government he has always maintained a belief that educational institutions should provide high level education for young people.
 

ACEL Victoria Fellowship Awardees

Suzy Chandler
B A, Dip Ed, M Ed (Monash), M Ed (Melb), MACE, FACEL (Vic)
 
Suzy Chandler is currently Principal of Fintona Girls’ School. Suzy’s clear vision and determination has been instrumental in the implementation of many positive school changes and improvements. Her collegiality enables staff and students alike to embrace the discussion and development of new ideas. Prior to her appointment at Fintona, Suzy was Vice Principal of Westbourne Grammar School, taught at Camberwell Grammar, Scotch College and Yeshivah College. With extensive experience in both co-educational and single-sex settings, Suzy has brought an open and broad minded attitude to her leadership roles. Suzy has written and published articles on how to create and maintain an ethical society, and is a member of the editorial board of Principal Matters and a member of the Australian College of Educators.

Peter Cole
B Comm, B Ed, M Ed, FACEL (Vic)
 
Peter Cole’s employment experience embraces secondary school teaching, research and policy analysis and development with the Curriculum Advisory Board, the State Board of Education and the Victorian Institute of Secondary Education, and senior executive responsibilities with the Education Department’s Western Regional Office and Head Office. Peter is a former Assistant General Manager Curriculum Programs, Victorian Department of Education and as a Senior Executive within the Department managed teams with responsibility for School Reorganisation, Curriculum Development, Technology Projects, and Training and Development. Peter has been consulting for fifteen years and has focused his consulting work on educational research, policy development and program evaluation projects within Victoria, at the national level and internationally.

Don Collins
B A, Dip Ed, Grad Dip Ed Admin, M Ed, FACEL (Vic)
 
Don is currently Principal of Coburg Senior High School. He has worked in rural and city schools during his 28 years as a teacher and principal in Victoria. Don has been a leader in the use of technology in schools. He has understood the power of technology as a means of communication, and has used technology to forge links between schools and communities in new and exciting ways. Coburg Senior High School demonstrates how technology can help create a paperless school. Printers are rare as the school understands that printing is not  necessarily for all, or indeed most, tasks. Feedback, formal assessments, class discussions, curriculum resources and reflection on learning can and does occur online. Don represents a leader who will allow schools to not only remain relevant to today’s youth, but will always be excited by the new possibilities that exist.

Judy Crowe
B A, Dip Soc St, Dip Ed, Grad Dip App Sc, Grad Dip Ed Admin, FACEL (Vic)
 
In 2002 Judy Crowe joined Melbourne Girls’ College after extensive experience as a Principal of two very different schools in Western Victoria. Prior to these roles she had worked as an educational psychologist and a social worker, and she had led a School Support Centre. Judy has continued innovation within   Melbourne Girls’ College and has introduced a new curriculum structure and the development of several new facilities. She is strongly committed to government schools and is currently Deputy President of the Victorian Association of Secondary School Principals. She has also served on the National Executive of the Australian Alliance of Girls’ Schools. Judy has served as a member of the Deakin University Council and also as a member of the Deakin Campus Planning Group. Judy was awarded the Principals Australia John Laing Professional Development Award in 2011 in recognition of her contribution to the professional learning of other school leaders. 

Maxwell Cuddon
B Sci, Dip ED, FACEL (Vic)
 
Max Cuddon’s first teaching appointment was to a Government Secondary School with a very high non English speaking migrant population. Here he began to understand how young people really learn and how they might apply that learning in an everyday context. His on-going challenge has been to seek ways of enhancing the way in which curriculum is delivered. In 2007 he was appointed Executive Assistant Principal of Flinders Christian Community College and with the restructure of the College in 2009 he became Principal of the Tyabb Campus. In recent years Max has been involved with a project to deliver lessons from one campus to another using high definition video conferencing as part of a blended learning approach to curriculum delivery.”

Bronwyn Harcourt
B Ed (Health, PE & Rec), Grad Dip PE & Rec for the Disabled (Sp Ed), M Ed Admin, FACEL (Vic)
 
As Principal of Croydon Community School, Bronwyn has demonstrated a strong commitment to the education of at-risk youths. The school has a challenging cohort with many students who have ADHD, anxiety disorders, are on the autism spectrum or have severe learning and language difficulties. The school also hosts a program for young people living in residential care in partnership with DHS and Salvation Army Eastcare, and a Martial Arts Therapy program which encourages impulsive, emotionally and behaviorally challenging students to attend school. Bronwyn is also Principal of EMR Options which provides alternative programs for disengaged students- short term withdrawal programs at four student development centres; a Farm School; school-based programs; secondary consultations and professional development for teachers and principals. She is in her tenth year as a board member of the Outer Eastern Local Learning and Employment Network, is on the DEECD Student Wellbeing and Engagement Advisory Group, a previous member of the Croydon Partners in Safety Committee, immediate past Chairperson of “atEAST” (Provider of school based apprenticeships and traineeships) and is on the Committee of Management of “Operation Newstart.”

Judy Petch
HDT SAC, M Ed, M Ed (Leadership & Policy Change)  Churchill Fellowship (2006), FACEL (Vic)
 
Judy is currently General Manager of DEECD's School Improvement Divison. A major component of her role is the professional learning of teachers and school leaders, including through the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership, and the implementation of the School Accountability and Improvement Framework for Government schools. Since 2004, Judy has taken a leadership role in developing and implementing frameworks to support teachers and leaders to improve their professional practice. This includes her work on the Leadership Developmental Framework and the e5 Instructional Model. The leadership programs she has developed have been internationally recognised. Judy has also held the position of Chair of the Examination Setting Panel and Chief Assessor for VCE Studio Arts for seven years. In 2006 Judy was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study leadership overseas.

Annette Rome
B Sc (Hons), Dip Ed Phys (Sc) & Ed, FACE, FACEL (Vic)
 
Annette Rome is Director of Staff Learning at Methodist Ladies' College and President of the Australian College of Educators (Vic). Prior roles include Director of the Wesley College Institute for Innovation in Education and leadership positions in several Melbourne schools. She has written science and education resources and frequently presents at national and international conferences. Annette has been a member of the Science Teachers Association of Victoria Council and has worked with the Orica Corporate Affairs Division. She is the 2010 - 2011 holder of an International Baccalaureate (IB) Jeff Thompson Research Award and in 2011 was admitted as a Fellow to the Australian College of Educators. Annette has organised a large number of educational events and she is currently an active member of several not-for profit endeavours.  

Bert Van Halen
B Econ, B Ed, Grad Dip Prof Devt, FACE, FAPC, FACEL (Vic)
 
Bert Van Halen is a noted educator with over 40 years’ service in Government Schools. In 2003 he was the recipient of the Victorian Educational Excellence Award for Outstanding School Leadership. In 2006 Bert retired after twenty years as an exemplary principal of Deer Park Secondary College. Bert has maintained an energetic participation in national and state educational debates, and is currently a lecturer in Educational Leadership at Victoria University. Bert was a member and leader of the Western Metropolitan Regions' Leadership and Development Team for some 10 years. He has written extensively on educational leadership and has made Leadership presentations for ACEL at the International Conference in Melbourne in 2008, and the ACEL conference in Darwin in 2009. Currently Bert is working on the applications of Positive Psychology for Leader, Teacher and Student Wellbeing.