Thank you for your interest in this role with UNSW
An appointment has now been made with the following announcement released by the Vice Chancellor.
I am delighted to announce Professor Leanne Holt has been appointed to the position of UNSW’s inaugural Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous. Leanne is a proud Worimi and Biripi woman with family connections to the Karuah area of Port Stephens. I am pleased to welcome her, on behalf of the UNSW community, to the unceded territory of the Bedegal (Kensington campus), Gadigal (City and Paddington campuses) and Ngunnawal peoples (Canberra) who are the Traditional Owners of the lands.
Leanne joins us from Macquarie University where she has been Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Strategy since 2018. In her role as PVC, Leanne led Macquarie’s Indigenous Strategy 2016-2025, increasing outcomes in Indigenous student, staff and community engagement, successfully adopting an Indigenous curriculum framework across all faculties, implementing an Indigenous Research Plan which achieved positive results in HDR student success, grants and publications, as well as the adoption of a strong industry partnership Indigenous program.
Prior to her PVC role, Leanne was Director Indigenous Engagement, Employment and Collaboration at the Wollotuka Institute at the University of Newcastle. Her leadership at Wollotuka contributed to University of Newcastle being recognised as a national leader in Indigenous higher education, the first university to enrol over 1,000 Indigenous students, as well as the first to receive international cultural accreditation through the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Comsortium (WINHEC). Leanne is also a graduate from Newcastle with a PhD in Education. Her thesis focused on Voices of the National Aboriginal Education Committee: Development of Aboriginal Education Policy in Australia which resulted in a published book, ‘Talking Strong’.
Leanne is passionate about Indigenous education and social justice. She has extensive leadership experience in Higher Education and is currently Co-Chair of WINHEC, Deputy Chairperson Universities Australia (UA) DVC/PVC Indigenous Committee, a member of the Centre for Excellence in Equity in Higher Education Advisory Committee, the Minister’s Equity in Higher Education Panel, Bara Barang community training organisation and Chairperson of both The Westerman Jilya Institute for Indigenous Mental Health and Yadha Muru Indigenous Education Partnerships.
As the past President and long-standing executive of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Consortium (NATSIHEC), as well as through national/state DVC/PVC Indigenous committees, Leanne has worked closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues across the sector, government agencies and UA to advocate for the advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through higher education.
At UNSW, Leanne will have cross-institutional responsibility for refining and driving goals related to initiatives in UNSW’s Indigenous Strategy by engaging the University community, Indigenous communities, government and NGOs, building strong links with key stakeholders internal and external to UNSW to nurture an institutional culture founded on respect, reciprocity and collegiality.
Please join me in warmly welcoming Leanne to UNSW.
Professor Attila Brungs
Vice-Chancellor and President
University of New South Wales
