Portraits of Alfred Deakin and his family

From left to right: Stella, Pattie, Ivy, Alfred, Vera.

Higher education research at Deakin University

There is much complexity to the term ‘higher education research’. This paper explores the notion and provides some background for ongoing discussion with members of the College of Distinguished Deakin Educators (CDDE) and other staff stakeholders at Deakin University.

Scholarship of teaching: what does it mean for Deakin University?

This short paper explores the relevance of the scholarship of teaching to advancing Deakin University’s mission and core commitments, to teaching and learning and to its staff. The concept of the scholarship of teaching is defined and a discussion of the relevance of the concept to Deakin is then presented. Some broad guiding principles for implementation are offered.

Promoting community capacity through university-community engagement: the Deakin University / Department of Human Services (Barwon South West) Partnership

The formal Partnership between Deakin University and the Victorian Department of Human Services (Barwon-South Western Region), based in Geelong, aims to bring together the knowledge, experience and resources of the Department and Deakin University for the benefit of the people living in that region, as well as for the mutual benefit of both organisations. A recent review process featured stakeholder interviews and focus groups. A special workshop on university-community engagement was also held for interested stakeholders in late 2006. This was facilitated by Prof. Judith Ramaley, President of Winona State University, during her visit to Deakin University as a Fulbright Visiting Senior Specialist. Visioning and strategic planing have continued throughout 2007.

This paper will describe the efforts and achievements of the Partnership through the complementary lenses of Healthy Cities, health-promoting universities and community capacity. This framework will be used to describe how the Partnership coordinators have used Prof Ramaley’s insights to establish a draft Business Plan that espouses a more mature form of collaboration and embraces shared, transformative goals. The paper will describe how the notion of community capacity is being used to evaluate the Partnership’s overall contribution to community engagement.