Rate My Professor Kevin Dunn

Professor Kevin Dunn (FNGS; FRSN) serves as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Arts, Business, Education and Law at Western Sydney University, a role announced in 2025 as part of a transformative restructure to three faculties. In this capacity, he oversees schools in social sciences, humanities, education, business, and law. Previously, he was Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Transformation), providing leadership for twelve academic schools, the Whitlam Institute, and The College; Provost (2024-2025); Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) (2019-2023); and Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Psychology (2012-2019). He joined Western Sydney University in 2008 as Professor of Human Geography and Urban Studies, following positions at the University of New South Wales (1995-2008) and the University of Newcastle (1991-1995). Dunn earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wollongong and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Newcastle.

Dunn is a prominent researcher in human geography and urban studies, with academic interests centered on racism and anti-racism, immigration and settlement patterns, Islam in Australia, local government, and multiculturalism. He has led the Challenging Racism Project for twenty years, conducting national surveys (e.g., racist attitudes n=12,517; experiences n=4,020) that have filled critical gaps in Australian scholarship and operationalized concepts such as Anglo privilege, belief in 'race', and bystander anti-racism responses. His grant successes include four ARC Discovery Projects, ARC Linkage Projects, and others as PI or CI. Notable publications encompass books like Cyber Racism and Community Resilience (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), Landscapes: Ways of Imagining the World (2003), and Introducing Human Geography (2000); recent works include "Complex religion, conspiracy theories, misinformation, and covid-19 in NSW, Australia" (Journal for the Academic Study of Religion, 2026) and "Effectiveness of a comprehensive bystander anti-racism intervention for healthcare staff in Australia" (Public Health Research & Practice, 2026). A Fellow of the New South Wales Geographical Society (past President) and the Royal Society of New South Wales, Dunn's contributions have elevated disciplinary standing and informed policy on culturally uneven citizenship and anti-racism strategies.