Our Team
Meet our CEEHE Director
Professor Penny Jane Burke
Director, Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education and Global Innovation Chair of Equity
Professor Penny Jane Burke has pushed the boundaries of the field of equity, arguing for praxis-based approaches that work towards transforming educational spaces and imaginaries and bringing research, theory and practice together. Her personal experience of returning to study via an Access to Higher Education program has fuelled her deep commitment to generating research with impact, firmly located in social justice methodologies.
Professor Penny Jane Burke is UNESCO Chair in Equity, Social Justice and Higher Education, Global Innovation Chair of Equity and Director of the Centre of Excellence in Equity in Higher Education at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Dedicated to developing pedagogical methodologies that enable transformative equity and social justice, she has published widely in the field of equity, including her Routledge books Equity in Higher Education: Time for Praxis (Burke & Lumb, 2024), Changing Pedagogical Spaces in Higher Education(Burke, Crozier and Misiaszek, 2017), The Right to Higher Education: Beyond widening participation (Burke, 2012) and Reconceptualising Lifelong Learning(Burke and Jackson, 2007). Penny is co-editor of the Bloomsbury Gender and Education book series and Global Chair of Social Innovation at University of Bath. She has held the position of Executive Editor of Teaching in Higher Education (2010 – 2020), received the Higher Education Academy’s National Teaching Fellowship Award (2008) and was an expert member of the Australian government’s Equity in Higher Education Panel (2020-2021) and Equity Research & Innovation Panel (2018-2020). She has held the positions of Professor of Education at the University of Sussex and University of Roehampton and Reader at the Institute of Education, University of London.
- T: + 61 2 4921 6538
- E: pennyjane.burke@newcastle.edu.au
Meet the CEEHE Team
Dr Matt Lumb
Associate Director
Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Ed
- matt.lumb@newcastle.edu.au
- 0249217912
Dr Rhyall Gordon
Program Planning and Evaluation Coordinator
Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Ed
- rhyall.gordon@newcastle.edu.au
- 0249217934
Mrs Alison Carter
Executive Administration and Project Officer
Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Ed
- alison.carter@newcastle.edu.au
- 0249138199
Ms Julia Shaw
Research Coordinator
Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Ed
- julia.shaw@newcastle.edu.au
- 49138027
Miss Emily Fuller
Research and Practice Convenor
Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Ed
- emily.fuller@newcastle.edu.au
- 0439953579
Mr Louis Ndagijimana
Project Officer
Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Ed
- louis.ndagijimana@newcastle.edu.au
- 0240339461
Mr Jace Blunden
Research and Practice Officer/Casual Specialist Peer Mentor
Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Ed
Mrs Felicity Cocuzzoli
Learning Community Partnership Officer
Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Ed
Mrs Ceanne Trotter
Project Officer
Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Ed
- ceanne.trotter@newcastle.edu.au
- 0249138199
Honorary Members
Professor Andrew Brown
Honorary Professor
Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Ed
- a.brown@newcastle.edu.au
- 0249217044
Founding Co-Director
Stay connected
- Phone: +61 2 4913 8199
- Email: ceehe@newcastle.edu.au
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.