News

Professor Tania Broadley appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education

Professor Tania Broadley has been appointed as Australian Catholic University’s new Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) after a competitive international recruitment process.

Professor Broadley will join ACU in February 2025 from the University of Canberra (UC) where she is currently Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education). Prior to joining UC in 2022, she held several roles at RMIT University including Associate DVC Learning and Teaching, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Design and Social Contexts) and Vice-President and Dean School of Education. She also previously held senior academic leadership roles at Queensland University of Technology and Curtin University.

Her research areas are concentrated in the field of educational technologies, teacher education, teacher resilience and professional development. She has worked broadly across the education, learning and teaching, and online education sectors, and has a strong academic publication record in teacher education, online education, student engagement and student learning.

Professor Broadley is a visionary and strategic executive. At UC she led the university’s generative AI for education and research strategy, sponsored the student success framework to align with the Universities Accord, and co-led the education transformative growth program to enhance digital learning and teaching. She brings a strong governance and quality assurance background that supports a high-quality student experience.

Growing up in a remote farming community in Western Australia, Professor Broadley’s own educational experience inspired her to want to support all students to succeed, including those from equity backgrounds who often find challenges with educational pathways and career aspiration.

After graduating as a teacher, she then decided that she could make a greater impact by developing the careers of beginning teachers through teacher education. Much of Professor Broadley’s career has been about this scaling up of impact - about finding a way to increase access to quality education for rural and remote communities in Australia through information technologies and digital learning to bridge the educational divide.

Professor Broadley said she was looking forward to joining ACU.

“Building on its Catholic mission, ACU fosters a strong sense of ethics, empathy, and a global perspective,” Professor Broadley said.

“This aligns with my goals to create an inclusive, accessible, and flexible learning environment that empowers every learner to achieve their full potential as a whole person.

“I am truly excited for the opportunity to work alongside the senior leadership team and all ACU staff across the campuses, building on the exceptional work already in progress to bring Vision 2033 to life for staff, students, and the community.”

ACU Vice-Chancellor Professor Zlatko Skrbis said he was delighted to welcome Professor Broadley to ACU.

“Professor Broadley has built an impressive career as an educational leader with a particular focus on digital education and the student experience. Given ACU’s focus in these areas, her expertise and leadership will be of enormous benefit to the university,” he said.

Professor Broadley holds a Bachelor of Education (Hons) from Curtin University, a PhD from Curtin University and has held a range of board and council roles, including non-executive director of Open Universities Australia and the University of Canberra College. She will take up her position on 10 February and will be based at ACU’s North Sydney Campus.