Celebrating outstanding teaching

The 2025 Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Teaching Excellence

Teaching Awards Recognition Gold Coast 2025
An outdoor portrait of Professor Tyrone Carlin - Vice Chancellor

Message from the Vice-Chancellor

Presenting our 2025 Vice-Chancellor's Teaching Excellence Award recipients.

It is very important to me that we reflect on and recognise outstanding contributions to teaching and learning at Southern Cross.  This connects in a very deep way to our purpose as an institution and has profound and ongoing impacts on the lives of our students.

Southern Cross University academics are committed to an inspiring student experience. Our teachers make a big impact on students, fostering their yearning for knowing more and a focus on learning for life. They are curriculum innovators, educators and scholars of teaching.

These Awards celebrate our academics’ commitment, achievement and contribution to an exceptional student learning experience. These colleagues, as you will see below, have made a genuine and very positive impact on the University.

They are, in every way, outstanding and inspiring educators.

Professor Tyrone Carlin

Outstanding Teaching Awards – Top 10% 2025

The Outstanding Teaching Excellence Awards are presented to current continuing, fixed-term and casual academic staff from each Faculty and College who are recognised in the top 10% of teachers based on student feedback. These outstanding teachers have received consistently high student feedback across the previous 12 months.

Head and shoulders of Sandra Clark

Sandra Clark

Lecturer

Educational Partnerships Board (The Hotel School)

Head and shoulders of Georgina Dimopoulos

Associate Professor Georgina Dimopoulos

Associate Professor

Faculty of Business, Law and Arts

Michael Robbins - Headshot

Michael Robbins

Teaching Associate

Faculty of Business, Law and Arts

Adrian Coorey - Headshot

Adrian Coorey

Teaching Associate

Faculty of Business, Law and Arts

Portrait of Kylie Rose

Kylie Rose

Teaching Associate

Faculty of Business, Law and Arts

Yvette Holt

Yvette Holt

Lecturer

Faculty of Business, Law and Arts

Dr Mandy Hughes

Dr Mandy Hughes

Senior Lecturer

Faculty of Education

Head and shoulders of female - Mrs Evangeline Moran

Evangeline Moran

Associate Lecturer

Faculty of Education

Head and shoulders of man wearing cream shirt - Patrick Bruck

Patrick Bruck

Teaching Associate

Faculty of Education

Head and shoulders of female - Monika Krajcovicova - image source LinkedIn

Dr Monika Krajcovicova

Teaching Associate

Faculty of Education

Paula farrell - Headshot

Paula Farrell

Teaching Associate

Faculty of Education

Head and shoulders of man wearing a Sikh turban - Gurpreet Singh

Dr Gurpreet Singh

Lecturer

Faculty of Health

Head and shoulders of man wearing blue shirt - Dr Borkwei Ed Nignpense

Dr Borkwei Ed Nignpense

Lecturer

Faculty of Health

Portrait of Gabby La Forest

Gabby La Forest

Lecturer

Faculty of Health

Jane Ravestyn - Headshot

Jane Ravesteyn

Teaching Associate

Faculty of Health

Head and shoulders of Willa Maguire

Willa Maguire

Lecturer (Nursing)

Faculty of Health

Head and shoulders of Reza Ghanbarzadeh

Dr Reza Ghanbarzadeh

Lecturer

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Head and shoulders for man wearing cark jacket - Dr Lin Li

Dr Lin Li

Lecturer

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Head and shoulders of woman with fair hair - Dr Carolyn Seton

Dr Carolyn Seton

Lecturer

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Head and shoulders of Professor Scott Johnston

Professor Scott Johnston

Professor (Research Scholar)

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University

Dr Jay Anderson

Senior Lecturer

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Stefanie Kocon - Headshot

Stefanie Kocon

Teaching Associate

Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples

Kylie Day

Dr Kylie Day

Lecturer

Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples

Blake Toohey - Headshot

Blake Toohey

Teaching Associate

SCU College

Kerrie Stimpson

Dr Kerrie Stimpson

Associate Lecturer (Teaching Scholar)

SCU College

Inspiring Educators - 2025

Nominated by the University’s Deans, these select awards of recognition go to our colleagues who stand out and inspire others at Southern Cross for the quality and impact of their teaching.

Head and shoulders of female - Nicole Graham

Nicole Graham

Lecturer, Faculty of Health

Nicole Graham, a leader in mental health nursing education at SCU, has redesigned curricula, fostered industry partnerships, authored influential scholarly works, and developed innovative interprofessional units, inspiring students and colleagues while advancing trauma-informed care and professional preparation across health disciplines.

Osteopathy lecturer Kristy Buist

Kristy Buist

Lecturer, Faculty of Health

Kristy is commended for her adaptability and professionalism. She stepped into a challenging UA role at short notice and did an outstanding job. She has made our curriculum industry-relevant, and she drives high standards with the students, improving their employability.

Head and shoulders of Tim Barringham

Tim Barringham

Associate Lecturer, Faculty of Education

Students who have been taught by Tim will often say that he is one of the most inspirational and relational teachers they have encountered, who is focused on his students. His communication approach is unique, and serves to motivate, encourage and support his students. Tim strives for perfection and demonstrates outstanding teaching and pedagogy; he is focused on effective curriculum development; and, develops assessment and drives feedback that supports student success.

Head and shoulders of woman with fair hair - Carla ValÃrio

Dr Carla Valerio

Lecturer, Faculty of Education

Carla is successful in her teaching because she draws on her own experiences as a gymnast and dancer to connect with students in a relatable way. Her evidence-based, up-to-date approach, combined with thorough preparation, ensures her workshops and tutorials are engaging and impactful. 4.89 mean teacher satisfaction score over the last 12 months.

head shot of Dr Meri Oakwood

Dr Meri Oakwood

Lecturer, Faculty of Business, Law and Arts

Meri inspires through passionate, high-quality teaching, clarity, and care. Students consistently praise her engaging delivery, supportive approach, and deep subject knowledge. Across multiple units, she fosters inclusive, respectful learning environments that empower students to succeed and love learning.

Melinda Muir - Headshot

Dr Melinda Muir

Teaching Associate, Faculty of Business, Law and Arts

Melinda inspires business students across a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate units. She brings learning to life with real-world examples, clear explanations, and engaging, interactive classes. Her approachable style, passionate dedication, and confidence-building support consistently empower students to succeed.

Sarah-Jane Wilson, Director, Academic Accreditation, Veterinary Science with a horse

Dr Sarah-Jane Wilson

Director, Academic Accreditation, Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering

Sarah-Jane received a perfect feedback score (5.00) for her teaching within the VETS1001 unit. Beyond her evident teaching success, she has done an exemplary job leading development of this unit, as well as contributing to several other new unit developments for the BVetTech course. She is also integral to curricular management and accreditation success for the BVetMed. She demonstrates exception levels of achievement across all aspects of teaching and curricular leadership.

Head and shoulders of man wearing glasses - Professor Haifeng Shen

Professor Haifeng Shen

Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering

Haifeng has excellent teaching/unit student feedback and more broadly led the BIT/MIT course design team to establish new IT programs with industry leading specializations in Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence. Haifeng has also introduced much sought after industry certifications (Microsoft Credentials) to enhance the job-readiness for SCU IT graduates.

Sharon Leslie

Dr Sharon Leslie

Director, English Language Programs, SCU College

Dedicated and thoughtful academic leader of both onshore at the Gold Coast and offshore in China and Japan. Her strong relationship building, commitment to evidence-informed pedagogy and academic support for students routinely results in excellent unit feedback. In a year when English language programs in Australia declined overall by 37% in 2024 - SCU College’s have grown. She actively supports and mentors her colleagues in professional development programs and is an exemplary academic.

Coral Jeffries - Headshot

Coral Jeffries

Teaching Associate, SCU College

Coral consistently motivates and inspires her students and is committed to providing high quality learning experiences for her students across College programs. She has made improvements to curriculum and pedagogy to the benefit of students and is a highly collegial and professional colleague.

Head and shoulders of Rachel Lynwood - image is black and white

Rachel Lynwood

Senior Lecturer, Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples

Rachel Lynwood has stepped in without hesitation over the past 12 months, covering units for colleagues on leave while also serving as AIO, Chair of Faculty Board, and on executive duties. Rachel consistently demonstrates exceptional dedication, diligence, and commitment to Gnibi College success and teaching excellence - mentoring newer staff and helping develop units that she is not teaching into.

Head and shoulders of female standing in a garden setting - Dr Darlene Rotumah

Darlene Rotumah

Lecturer, Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples

Darlene is recognised for coordinating Gnibi Health units of 800+ students, mentoring colleagues, improving assessment design, and fostering a supportive environment. She travels between campuses for teaching, actively engages in community events, and demonstrates excellence with clear impact on student experience.

Andrea Moro - Headshot

Andrea Moro

Lecturer, The Hotel School

Andrea inspires through his creative use of GenAI, producing engaging podcasts that enhance student understanding and reflect evolving learning habits. His work exemplifies innovation, responsiveness, and leadership in digital pedagogy within the Southern Cross Model.

Cary Budd

Cary Budd

Lecturer, Senior Program Coordinator, The Hotel School

Cary inspires through authentic, AI-assisted assessments that simulate real-world industry pitches. His innovative teaching boosts student confidence, employability, and critical thinking, while modelling ethical GenAI use and aligning perfectly with the Southern Cross Model’s goals.

Discover more staff awards

Research Awards
Professional Staff Awards
2024 Teaching Awards