David joined UTAS in January 2011 from the UK where he was one of the Directors of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). The HEA has responsibility to develop excellence in learning and teaching and works to achieve the best student experience. David had responsibility for the UK subject centre network.
He led many initiatives in the areas of student engagement; education for sustainable development; open educaton resources (OERs); technology enhanced learning and increased social inclusion in Higher Education. These remain his passions and will inform his approach to a student-centred focus to learning and teaching at UTAS.
David is a former Dean of Social Sciences and Director of the UK Subject Centre for Sociology, Anthropology and Politics (CSAP). He is a UK National Teaching Fellow in recognition of his work on innovative role-play teaching techniques in the social sciences and held two Jean Monnet awards for his teaching. David’s research areas include international relations, with a particular specialism on international crises.
One of his role-plays gets students to participate in a reconstruction of the Cuban Missile Crisis. David is delighted to join UTAS and is committed to ensuring an excellent student experience for all UTAS students. In November 2011 David was appointed to the newly-announced national Strategic Advisory Committee of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relation's Office for Learning and Teaching, which has replaced the Australian Learning & Teaching Council.