Executive staff

Professor Geoff Crisp

PhD (ANU) PFHEA FHERDSA

DVCA Suite, Building 1, Room C87
+61 2 6201 5064
deputyvice-chancelloracademic@canberra.edu.au

Professor Crisp completed his Bachelor of Science (Honours, First Class) at the University of Queensland in 1977 and his PhD in Chemistry at the Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University in 1981. After completing a Humboldt Fellowship at the Max Planck Institute in Mulheim an der Ruhr and postdoctoral positions at Colorado State University and the Australian National University, Geoff began his first academic appointment in 1985 in the Chemistry Department at the University of Melbourne.

In 1988 he moved to the Chemistry Department at the University of Adelaide and continued discipline research and teaching until 2001. Professor Crisp developed his passion for learning and teaching as well as continuing his work in chemistry during this time, being Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching for the Faculty of Science from 1999-2001. Professor Crisp was actively involved in the development of online learning and was appointed the Director of the Online Learning and Teaching Unit in 2001 to oversee the implementation of the university online system.

From 2002-2011, Professor Crisp was the Director of the Centre for Learning and Professional Development at the University of Adelaide and was the Dean, Learning and Teaching at RMIT University in Melbourne from 2012-2015.

In 2016 he moved to the University of New South Wales in Sydney as Pro Vice Chancellor (Education) where he has specific responsibility for academic policy, online provision, academic development and the learning environment.

Professor Crisp has received a number of prizes in his career, including the University of Adelaide’s Stephen Cole the Elder Prize (Excellence in Teaching) in 1999; the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Stranks Medal for Chemical Education in 2003 and Australian Learning and Teaching Council Fellowships in 2006 and 2009. Professor Crisp is a HERDSA Fellow and a Principal Fellow of the HEA.

Mr Jonathan Pheasant

Building 1, Room D139
+61 2 6201 5045
coo@canberra.edu.au

Jonathan Pheasant is the Chief Operating Officer, Vice-President Operations at the University of Canberra (UC). Jonathan has responsibility for the University’s core business services including Finance, Campus and Commercial Operations, Campus Development, People and Diversity (Human Resources), and Marketing.

Jonathan has worked in the higher education sector for the past 15 years having held senior professional staff roles at the ANU, UNSW Sydney and the University of Adelaide.

Jonathan joined UC in June 2023 from the ANU where he was the Director, Shared Services, responsible for the delivery of university-wide HR, finance, travel and facility-related services.  From 2016 – 2021, Jonathan was the Faculty Executive Director, UNSW Health and Medicine. In UNSW Sydney’s largest faculty with multiple campus locations, hospital-based clinical schools and five rural clinical schools, Jonathan was responsible for the strategic and financial planning and operational management of all services supporting research and teaching.

Prior to joining the higher education sector, Jonathan held senior strategic planning and service delivery roles in a number of telecommunications and events organisations.  Jonathan also served as an Officer in the Royal Australian Navy from 1993 – 1999.

Professor Lucy Johnston

Tel: +61 2 6206 3708
DVCR&E@canberra.edu.au

Professor Johnston joined the University of Canberra after three years as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) at Murdoch University. Previously she was Dean of Graduate Research at the University of Newcastle and Dean of Postgraduate Research at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. In 2004, she was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Connecticut.

Professor Johnston completed her BA (Hons) in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford and her PhD in Social Psychology at the University of Bristol and is a qualified sport psychologist. She is an internationally recognised experimental social psychologist, whose research focuses on the non-verbal behaviour of individuals in social interactions. She has also undertaken research on various aspects of tertiary education.

Professor Johnston was a member of the inaugural management team of the New Zealand Institute of Language, Brain and Behaviour, and following the Christchurch earthquakes in 2011, was appointed to the Psychosocial Recovery Advisory Group for the Joint Centre for Disaster Research. She was the Chair of the New Zealand Deans and Directors of Graduate Studies and a member of the Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR) and was involved in the development of the Australian Best Practice Guidelines for Higher Degrees by Research. She was Convenor of the Universities New Zealand Scholarship Committee.

Awarded Oxford Blues and Colours at the University of Bristol for basketball she also played for the British Universities. She rowed for her Oxford College and the City of Bristol and played soccer for the University of Bristol. She has now retired from over 10 seasons completing in road cycling, ocean swimming and triathlons.

Mr Craig Mutton

Building 1, Level D, Room 129
+61 2 6201 5182
cdo@canberra.edu.au

Craig possesses significant digital, strategy and transformation expertise built over a career of more than 25 years across both the private and public sector. In taking on the newly-established Chief Digital Officer role at the University of Canberra, Craig is heading the Digital Portfolio at the University – championing digital and innovation capability uplift, technology and engineering delivery, and ultimately placing the student digital experience at the heart of what he does. With a philosophy of ‘people and culture first’ in his approach to digital leadership and transformation, Craig recognises the role of CDO is not just a technology role but importantly a cultural and organisational change role.

Craig most recently held the position of Executive Director Strategy and Transformation at the Environmental Protection Authority Victoria where he led a significant organisational transformation which delivered across three key pillars: People and Culture, Digital Transformation, and Regulatory Reform. Previously, Craig led large-scale capital portfolio delivery enabling the establishment of Telstra Corporation’s Fixed Product (NBN) business, overseeing the redesign of the product portfolio and building significant strategic partner relationships. Craig has also held responsibilities for the enterprise-wide business change portfolio at WorkSafe Victoria, and he led Future Ways of Working across the Group IT Project Services business at NAB.

Craig holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Monash University, a master’s degree in Project Management from RMIT, an MBA from the Melbourne Business School and he is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Craig is currently on the Board of the Diversity Council Australia (DCA), and is also a member of DCA’s Finance, Audit and Risk Committee and the IT Committee. Craig has previously been a non-executive director of both Castlemaine Art Museum, where he was also Chair, and Hepburn Health Service.