Professor Hilary Winchester 

Professor Hilary Winchester is Pro Vice Chancellor and Vice President: Participation and Engagement at the University of South Australia. Her responsibilities as a member of the Senior Management Group include regional, industry and community engagement; developing and implementing a Participation Strategy for the University; managing two DEEWR funded projects, the University Aspirations Project ($3.9M) and Students in Free Enterprise ($1.9M); as well as line management of major service units: the Centre for Regional Engagement (CRE) and the Centre for Participation and Community Engagement (PACE), which includes the University’s Northern Adelaide Partnerships (UNAP). A human geographer, Professor Winchester completed a B.A. (Hons) and D. Phil. at Oxford University. Her geographical research has focused on key social issues such as urban disadvantage, population change and the construction of place identity.

Her background in social and cultural geography has translated into playing a leading role in university engagement in northern Adelaide and regional South Australia.

Hilary is an academic auditor for the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) and has chaired and participated in quality audits in Australia and overseas. She has been appointed as an Honorary Auditor for the Quality Assurance Council of Hong Kong and for the Quality Assurance Authority of the Kingdom of Bahrain and has chaired institutional audits in both countries. In 2009, Hilary conducted a thematic review of the AUQA audits of Non-Self Accrediting Institutions (NSAIs), and in 2010 is drafting Academic Governance Guidelines for NSAIs. Hilary has been a regular presenter at the Australian Universities Quality Forum and has been awarded both Best Presentation and Best Paper .

From 2004 to 2006, Hilary was Co-Convenor of the National Colloquium of Senior University Women (now Universities Australia Executive Women) for whom she led a research project published in 2005 as ‘The Great Barrier Myth: an investigation of promotions policy and practice in Australian universities’. She also led the development of Universities Australia Second Action Plan for Women Employed in Australian Universities 2006 – 2010. Professor Winchester is keen to promote an effective work-life balance for staff and to increase the number of women who hold leadership positions. This interest and positions she has held within the Australian Technology Network (ATN) Women's Executive Development group (WEXDEV) have led Professor Winchester to take on research, projects and seminars specifically related to women in universities.

Responsibility for development of the University's premier community engagement unit dedicated to northern Adelaide, UNAP (now incorporated into PACE) and the CRE, led to Professor Winchester's involvement and continuing interest in engagement theory and organisational practice and joint presentation of papers at the Australian Universities Community Engagement Alliance 2005 Conference: The University of South Australia’s community engagement in a low socio-economic area to create significant and lasting change

To view some of Professor Winchester's recent corporate presentations, visit her Senior Management Group homepage.

• Within her academic discipline, Human Geography, Professor Winchester has taught the full range of undergraduate courses and supervised higher degree by research students.
  
  As a result of her teaching and experience as a member and chair of academic boards, Hilary has an ongoing interest in academic policy and credit transfer issues and is frequently invited to give lectures and speeches on issues relating to university staffing, academic women and quality auditing.

In August 2001, Hilary was appointed an academic auditor for the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA). In 2008, she chaired the audit panel of Curtin University. Hilary was also the AVCC representative on the Australian Qualifications Framework Advisory Board (AQFAB) Working Party on the Recognition of Prior Learning.

In 2007, Professor Winchester was appointed an auditor to the Quality Assurance Council (QAC) which is part of the University Grants Committee (UGC) in Hong Kong.

Other memberships and appointments include:

Doctor of Philosophy, 1980, The University of Oxford, UK Thesis title: ‘Urban and Rural Perspectives on Population Mobility in France, with Particular Reference to Isère’

Bachelor of Arts with Honours (Geography), 1974, The University of Oxford, UK

• Professor Winchester’s research interests as a human geographer are focussed on key social issues such as urban poverty, population change, and the construction of place identity. Her most heavily cited work has been concerned with the processes and geography of marginalisation.
• Professor Winchester’s research interests as an academic manager are focused on academic governance and quality assurance, particularly academic policy, academic boards and institutional governance and management.

Books and Monographs include

Winchester, H.P.M. & Daniels, C.B (2010): Adelaide – Water of a City , Wakefield Press. 579pp. Ch 8: The River Torrens 1: An unnatural history. Box 42: Politics and the problems of the river Torrens. Pp 190-191. Ch9: The River Torrens 2: Contaminated sediments in the river. Pp197-206

Winchester, H.P.M. & Hay, I. (2010) Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography (3rd edition) Oxford University Press, Canada. Ch1: Qualitative Research and Its Place in Human Geography.

Winchester, H.P.M. (2009): Executive Summary of A Review of the First Ten Non Self-Accrediting Institutions (NSAIs). Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA)

Paper presented at the 2005 Australian Universities Quality Forum (and subsequently awarded Best Paper): Embedding Community Engagement: Northern Adelaide and The University of South Australia

Paper presented at the 2007 Australian University Quality Forum (AUQF) and awarded Best Paper and Best Presentation: Academic Board and the Academy: Seizing the Moment

Paper to Australian Financial Review Conference: Staffing issues for universities

Paper published in the Journal of Rural Studies: Christmas in the Valley of Praise : Intersections of the rural idyll, heritage and community in Lobethal, South Australia

Report to AVCC produced by the National Colloquium of Senior Women Executives in Higher Education: The Great Barrier Myth : an investigation of promotions policy and practice in Australian universities