Education thought leader named among women of influence

Education thought leader named among women of influence

Professor Belinda Tynan has been named as one of the Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Women of Influence.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education and Vice-President was included in the Australian Financial Review list of the Top 100 Women of Influence for 2019, for her work towards supporting equal opportunities for girls and women.

Revealed this week, the list placed her as a finalist in the category of Board and Management, among the nation’s most influential leaders in business and society.

Despite once being told she would never go to university, Tynan has amassed more than 30 years of experience in the education sector.

She said her own education and experiences allowed her to imagine she could do anything.

“This irrefutably shaped me and that’s why I believe that education matters, is transformational and is essential for the world we all wish to live in,” Tynan said.

From mentoring, sponsoring and networking both at RMIT and beyond, Tynan has supported many over the years to achieve their career aspirations, a passion and purpose stemming from her personal journey.

“It has been a pleasure to support my colleagues to understand themselves and then see them go on to achieve amazing things,” she said.

“Over my career I am proud to have had so many moments where I have had the opportunity to be able to do something about parity of outcomes for students and staff and support equitable opportunities for all but particularly for girls and women.”

Prior to being appointed her current role at RMIT in May 2016, Tynan held leadership positions at leading universities including The Open University, the University of Southern, and the University of New England.

In these organisations and throughout her career, Tynan has led many initiatives – particularly in open and online education, and global distance – that have impacted hundreds of thousands of students, millions of informal learners and thousands of academics and teachers.

At RMIT, Tynan led the development of the Academic Promotion System for academics and the Achievement Relative to Opportunity, which is especially important to female academics throughout their careers.

She initiated the Senior Women’s Executive Lunches, bringing together more than 100 academic and professional senior female staff and formed a new Female Professorial Gathering, to create an enabling culture for senior women.

With a keen interest and passion in educational technologies, her work in this area – most known through RMIT Online and Project Rewire – has impacted many RMIT students and staff.

An accomplished communicator, Tynan has more than 80 peer-reviewed scholarly publications and numerous local and global public speaking keynotes, which provides the opportunity to influence education at the global level.

She is also President of the International Council of Open and Distance Education, which impacts millions of learners globally, and is the Australian Commonwealth Government Executive Board Member for the Commonwealth of Learning (Canada), which has a focus on education and gender.

 

Story: Helen Varnavas

12 September 2019

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12 September 2019

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