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Keynote Speakers

  • Professor Chris Rust

    Emeritus Professor of Higher Education, Oxford Brookes University. Before retiring in September, 2014, after over 25 years at Brookes, Chris had been Associate Dean (Academic Policy). Previously, for ten years, he was Head of the Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development (OCSLD), and Deputy Director of the Human Resource Directorate. Between 2005 - 2010 he was also a Deputy Director for two Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning - ASKe (Assessment Standards Knowledge Exchange) and the Reinvention Centre for undergraduate research (led by Warwick University). View more.

    In OCSLD, with thirteen colleagues, he helped to provide both staff and educational development support to the University’s academic Faculties and support Directorates for 23 years. For six years he was Course Leader for the University’s initial training course for new teaching staff.

    He achieved a PhD by publication in 2003 and became a professor in March, 2010.

    He has researched and published on a range of issues including:

    - the experiences of new teachers in HE
    - the positive effects of supplemental instruction
    - ways of diversifying assessment
    - improving student performance through engagement in the marking process
    - the effectiveness of workshops as a method of staff development.

    Most recently he has increasingly focused on researching and writing about assessment, including: improving student learning through active engagement with assessment feedback, and the significance of both explicit articulation and socialisation processes in improving students' understanding of assessment requirements and assessment feedback.

    He is also interested in the design, development and use of social learning space in universities, as well as the development of research-based learning in the undergraduate curriculum, including its potential effect on university organization.

    In the 90s he contributed to the design and delivery of a national programme of staff development in higher education on the issue of teaching more students and over the years has run numerous workshops around the country and internationally on a range of issues including teaching large classes, developing assessment strategies, and engaging students with assessment and feedback.

    He has been a Fellow of the RSA, a Senior Fellow of SEDA (Staff and Educational Development Association) and was one of the first fourteen Senior Fellows of the UK Higher Education Academy, for whom he was also an accreditor.


  • Professor Sandra Graham

    Sandra Graham is dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, director of the Master of Science in Community Psychology program, and a professor of psychology at Alverno College. She earned her master of divinity degree at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and was ordained in the United Church of Christ, serving as senior pastor of a city parish for ten years. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in psychology from Marquette University. As a licensed psychologist, she has maintained a private practice in which she works primarily with the needs of women and adolescent girls. View more.

    Dr. Graham has extensive experience in facilitating adult learning in undergraduate, graduate, and community settings. She has worked with Alverno’s ability-based curriculum at both the classroom and administrative levels, and she has taught courses in developmental psychology, clinical psychology, and the psychology of women. As a member of the Research Center for Women and Girls, she chaired a team of Alverno faculty, staff, and students to produce a report on the status of girls in Wisconsin that highlights how girls are faring in areas such as education, mental health, and physical wellness. She collaborated with the Status of Girls Advisory Committee, made up of representatives from agencies around the state, to finalize and distribute this report throughout Wisconsin. She currently serves on the Research Center for Women and Girls Advisory Team.

    A mark of Dr. Graham’s practice—whether in educational program planning and assessment, clinical work with individuals, or leadership of religious groups—is her commitment to learning, her ability to listen deeply to the needs of individuals and organizations, and her respect for the diverse array of people and programs with which she is involved.


  • Professor Eeva Leinonen

    Professor Eeva Leinonen is the Vice Chancellor of Murdoch University after previously holding role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at the University of Wollongong. Professor Leinonen has an academic background in linguistics and psychology and has extensive experience in higher education in the United Kingdom, Europe and internationally. Prior to moving to Australia in 2012, Professor Leinonen held the position of Vice-Principal (Education) at King’s College, University of London. She has also been Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. View more.

    Professor Leinonen has been actively involved in national and international higher education debates and advisory groups, including: Chair of the UK Higher Education Funding Council/Quality Assurance Agency advisory group into Employer Engagement in Learning, Chair of the King’s –Warwick Project, Trustee of IntoUni Charitable Trust; Trustee of the School’s Competition Settlement Trust, Member of the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group in Australia, Member of the CEOs Council of Open Educational Resources University; Director of University of Wollongong Dubai Ltd.

Register Online
  • Key Dates
  • Call for Proposals Open 12 September 2016
  • Registration Opens 19 September 2016
  • Call for Refereed Paper Abstracts Closes 23 October 2016
  • Notification of Acceptance for Refereed Paper Abstracts 15 November 2016
  • Full Paper from Accepted Abstracts Due 6 February 2017
  • All Other Submission Types Due 6 February 2017
  • Notification of Acceptance for All Other Submission Types 3 April 2017
  • Early Bird Registration Closes 28 April 2017
  • Pre-Conference Workshops 27 June 2017
  • HERDSA 2017 Conference 28 – 30 June 2023