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

Rich Text:

Executive staff

Professor Phil Parker

Interim Executive Dean

Professor Phil Parker is the Interim Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education and Arts (an executive role within the Office of the Provost) and Pro Vice-Chancellor of Research (an executive role within the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Research and Enterprise) at Australian Catholic University. He serves as Deputy Chair of the AI Council, the University Research Council, and the Foreign Interference and Transparency Committee. He is also a member of the University’s Enterprise Clinic. Professor Parker earned his doctorate in Educational Psychology from the University of Sydney, followed by a Jacobs Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Tübingen, Germany. He has previously held roles as an ARC DECRA Fellow, Deputy Director of the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Dean of Graduate Research, and Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor – Research Impact at Australian Catholic University. His primary research interests include educational inequality, developmental transitions, and educational attainment. His work focuses on secondary data analysis of large-scale international education datasets.

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.

Linda Schofield

Director, Strategy and Operations

Linda Schofield is the Director, Faculty Strategy & Operations in the Faculty of Education and Arts. Linda joined ACU in 2023, bringing a wealth of experience in higher education leadership, and a remarkable track record of delivering results. Linda has held several key roles including at the University of Sydney and Macquarie University, roles in which she led teams of professional staff to achieve institutional-wide projects, and a consultative and innovative approach to faculty strategy and operations. Linda holds a Master of Arts in Communication Management from the University of Technology Sydney and is a certified change practitioner.

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.

Back to previous page

Have a question?

We're available 9am–5pm AEDT,
Monday to Friday

If you’ve got a question, our AskACU team has you covered. You can search FAQs, text us, email, live chat, call – whatever works for you.

Live chat with us now

Chat to our team for real-time
answers to your questions.

Launch live chat

Visit our FAQs page

Find answers to some commonly
asked questions.

See our FAQs

Ask a question

Call 1300 275 228

Faculty staff