New Learning and Teaching Director starts at USQ

USQ's new Learning and Teaching Support Unit (LTSU) Director has only been in the job a fortnight but she is already making positive steps to enhance learning and teaching at the University.

Professor Lynne Hunt said one of the things that attracted her to USQ was the foundations that were in place to build an ever stronger reputation for student-centred teaching.

I am particularly interested in the directions that USQ is taking in graduate attributes and work-based learning and assessment,' Professor Hunt said.

'Good teaching and learning takes place in a context, and it is important to work hand-in-hand with administrative staff to ensure that the students' journeys through the university are as smooth and enjoyable as possible.'

This is an area of Lynne's expertise.

In 2002 she won the Prime Minister's Award for Australian University Teacher of the Year and in the same year she won the Australian Award for University Teaching in the Social Science category.

She is also the recipient of three university-level awards for teaching excellence.

Lynne comes to USQ from the position of Leader of Teaching and Learning at Charles Darwin University and was previously Associate Dean in Teaching and Learning at Edith Cowan University.

She is well published in the field of tertiary learning and teaching and received the 2002 Merit Award for Best Paper on Authentic Learning from the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA).

Lynne is a HERDSA Fellow and a member of the Board of the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education and she has published a book on the Management of Change to Promote Teaching and Learning.

She said apart from the high-standing of USQ another good reason for taking the position at the University was the city itself.

'I love the wooden houses and have found the people in Toowoomba and the staff of the University to be very friendly. The climate is good too,' Lynne said.

'I was last here in the 1970's on a camping trip. My family and I had to pack-up our tent as a cyclone threatened on the coast and we passed through Toowoomba to find a safe haven in Dalby.

'I like to make a commitment to the local community. In the past I have spoken at International Women's Day breakfasts and other public forums on topics such as ‘The Power of Gossip', ‘Women's history', and ‘What makes good teaching' and I'm looking forward to becoming an active member of the Toowoomba community.'

Media Contact: Fiona Taylor, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 2559 or +61 423 808 462