Rate My Professor Shirley Randell

Professor Shirley Randell is an Honorary Professor in the School of Education within the Faculty of Education and Arts at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She holds a PhD from the University of New England awarded in 1987, a Bachelor of Education from the University of Papua New Guinea in 1973, and an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of New England in 2015. Her distinguished academic career includes serving as Dean of Academic Affairs and Acting Dean of Arts, Education and Humanities at the University of Ballarat (now Federation University Australia), Adjunct Professor of Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Canberra, and Conjoint Professor of Practice at the University of Newcastle. Internationally, she founded and directed the Centre for Gender, Culture and Development at the Kigali Institute of Education, now the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Rwanda, where she worked from 2006 to 2015. She has also been involved with the Centre for African Research, Engagement and Partnerships (CARE-P) at the University of Newcastle as a member of the Executive Leadership Team. Her career spans extensive roles in education leadership, public sector reform, and institutional development in developing countries including Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Bangladesh, and Rwanda.

Professor Randell's contributions have earned her prestigious awards, including Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2010 for distinguished service to international relations through the promotion of women's human rights and public sector reform in developing countries, Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1988 for public service in education, the Inaugural Sir John Storey Lifetime Achievement in Leadership Award from the Institute of Managers and Leaders Australia and New Zealand in 2018, Fellow of the Australian College of Educators (FACE), Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders (FIML), and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD). She is the author of several books, including Ni-Vanuatu Role Models: Women in their own right, Girls Can Do Anything, Women on the Move, Pacific Creative Writing, and Raising Awareness on Domestic Violence in Vanuatu. Her scholarly work and practical expertise focus on gender empowerment, education policy, and women's leadership in post-conflict and developing contexts, influencing institutional reforms and girls' education initiatives globally.