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.

Professor Chris Rawson is the Dean, Learning and Teaching for the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Professor Rawson is a strong advocate of innovative teaching practices, communicating his ideas to staff in the department and the School. Professor Rawson’s teaching philosophy stresses the importance of developing learning experiences that ensure graduate readiness and that there are opportunities to exercise leadership and learn key leadership skills in all units. Professor Rawson works hard to ensure the curricula and assessments reflect highly relevant work tasks that would be expected in the workplace. Student feedback on these tasks is that, while challenging, they are some of the more rewarding of their degree.

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.

Ms. Kerry Valentine assumed the role of College Director and Principal at Curtin College in 2023. With an extensive and diverse background in tertiary and higher education, Kerry has accumulated her experience through engagements in Australia, Asia, and North America. Her return to Curtin College marks a homecoming to Perth, as she had previously held positions at Curtin University from 2012 to 2017. Prior to her current position, Kerry held the position of Director of Student Success and Wellbeing at Bond University. Preceding this role, she served as the Head of Student Experience/Campus Director at Torrens University in Sydney. Both roles enabled Kerry to acquire invaluable insights and leadership responsibilities in managing large teams dedicated to guiding students toward success throughout their academic journey.

Associate Professor Lim Swee Hia is the President of Singapore Nurses Association’s Executive Council. She was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science from Curtin University in recognition for her exceptional achievements and contributions in Singapore and serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the universities’ School of Nursing & Midwifery.

Grace serves as Head of Project Management, in Engaging Leaders Pte Ltd, a company which specialises in designing, producing and facilitating, unique remote workplace, people activation and engagement solutions.

With her last role as Senior Vice President at Sembcorp Industries Ltd (an indexed stock on the Stock Exchange of Singapore), Grace brings to the team, more than 20 years of background experience in various roles spanning Promotions & Publications, Corporate Image & Branding, Marketing, Business Development & Strategy, Corporate Planning and Organisation Development. The last 10 years of her career was dedicated to People Development, which many insightful organisations now consider, as an important part of business strategy.

Dr Ashley Tong has been teaching and researching as a Lecturer at Curtin Singapore since 2020. Dr Tong received her PhD in Finance from the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) in 2018.