Academic Board

Professor Paul Brunton joined Curtin University as Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic in 2022, having previously been the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Health Sciences at the University of Otago in New Zealand for four years. He is responsible for the learning and teaching portfolio, specifically achieving the University’s strategic goals in learning and teaching and ensuring an outstanding experience for students.

After graduating from the University of Leeds, School of Dentistry in 1984, he obtained his Master of Science in Restorative Dentistry in 1992 and his PhD in 1996 from the University of Manchester. Professor Brunton graduated with a Doctor of Dental Science from the University of Otago in 2021. He was granted his Fellowship in Dental Surgery from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1995 and in 2022 he was awarded a Fellowship by election from the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Professor Brunton is well published, and his research interests include the development of new technologies to improve patient care, clinical and translational research, operative dentistry, specifically tooth preparation and the early diagnosis and treatment of tooth wear.

Associate Professor is currently the Dean, Learning and Teaching for the Faculty of Business and Law and an Associate Professor of International Business and Innovation. As Dean, Associate Professor Ananthram provides academic leadership for the Faculty’s Learning and Teaching portfolio. He is also a Fellow of the Curtin Academy and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK).

Associate Professor Ananthram has previously held several leadership roles at Curtin including Discipline Lead (DL) of the Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Strategy and International Business (IESIB) discipline (2021-22) and Course Lead for several undergraduate and postgraduate courses including the Master of International Business & Entrepreneurship (MIBE) between 2017 – Feb 2021.

Marina Ciccarelli is an Associate Professor in the School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, with a background in occupational therapy. Marina returned to academia at Curtin in 2000 after 10 years of clinical work in the United States where she worked in the fields of ergonomics, occupational safety and health, injury management, adult physical rehabilitation and pediatrics. She is presently the Discipline Lead for Occupational Therapy at Curtin University.

Marina coordinates the capstone unit in the final year of the occupational therapy program and supervises honours, masters, and doctoral students in their research studies.  When not involved in T&L activities, Marina researches in the area of children’s ergonomics, with a focus on promoting healthy use of technologies among children and adolescents, and evaluating the outcomes of technology to improve participation among people living with a disability.

Mr. Malcolm Baigent took on the position of CEO at University Partnerships Australasia within Navitas in 2023. Malcolm has a rich history with Navitas, spanning almost a decade. He initially joined as the Campus Director of Edith Cowan College and, since 2019, has held an influential role in Executive General Management. His extensive portfolio encompassed the oversight of two royalty colleges, Curtin College and SAIBT, one joint venture college, ECC, two independent colleges, Eynesbury and ACBT Sri Lanka, as well as the management of two offshore campuses, Curtin Singapore and Murdoch Dubai.