Key people in the College of Arts

• Executive Dean
• Associate Dean (Academic)
• Associate Dean (Research)
• Teaching Fellow
• College Manager

Executive Dean

Professor Wayne McKenna

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Professor Wayne McKenna is the Executive Dean of the College of Arts. He has worked at the University of Western Sydney since September 2000. Previously, Professor McKenna has worked at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales; the University of Geneva, Switzerland; and the University of Toulouse, France.

Professor McKenna’s research and teaching interests were in English literature - mainly 19th and 20th century - and in writing. He has written books on Charles Lamb, on the Australian poet and music critic WJ Turner, and contributed to writing the text book Writing in Australia. His most recent work was in humanities computing, specifically in relation to James Joyce and Samuel Beckett.

To make an appointment with Professor McKenna, please contact Sandra Watkins.

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Associate Dean (Academic)

Associate Professor Peter J Hutchings
BA (Hons), PhD, University of Sydney
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Peter J Hutchings is Associate Dean (Academic) for the College of Arts. He has been at UWS since 1996, where he has undertaken the responsibilities of Head of School (1997-1999, 2001-2002), Associate Dean (Academic) (2002 to present), and Chair of the College Board of Studies (2002 to present). His teaching has been in the disciplines of art history, cinema, communication, and cultural studies. His current research interests are in the interdisciplinary field of critical legal studies and the visual arts. His work has appeared in local and international refereed journals as well as in the mainstream print media, and he is the author of The Criminal Spectre in Law, Literature and Aesthetics: Incriminating Subjects (London and New York: Routledge, 2001). At present he is completing a book on cinema and sovereignty after 9/11.

Previously, he has worked at the University of Sydney, the University of Hong Kong, and in the Boston University Sydney program. He has been the past president (2000-2002) and vice-president (1997-2000) of the Law and Literature Association of Australia.

To make an appointment with Associate Professor Hutchings, please contact Sherilyn Lester.

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Associate Dean (Research)

Professor Michael Atherton
BA (Hons), MA (Hons) UNSW
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Michael Atherton is the Foundation Professor of Music and the founding Head of the former School of Contemporary Arts. Appointed to UWS in July 1993, his vision for music research and teaching has always been guided by a strong sense of Australian-Pacific identities, resonating with the diverse cultural aspirations of people in Western Sydney. His research interests include composing for orchestra, voices, mixed ensembles, film and radio, as well as intercultural collaborations and music therapy. He was influential in the establishment of the Golden Stave Music Therapy Teaching and Referral Centre at UWS. He is also a multi-instrumentalist who has performed around the world and throughout Australia in every type of venue including Indigenous communities, school classrooms, pubs, and concert halls.

Before joining UWS, Michael developed broad industry and community experience, serving on the Performing Arts Board of the Australia Council and chairing the music committee for the Premier’s NSW Arts Advisory Council. In 2003 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to Australian society.

Professor Atherton’s research output includes numerous CD recordings, film scores, books, essays and articles in academic and professional journals. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce; a member of the Australian Guild of Screen Composers; and a represented composer of the Australian Music Centre.

To make an appointment with Professor Atherton, please contact Sue Bell.

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Teaching Fellow

Dr Jo Milne-Home
BSc (Hons) UNSW, MEd, PhD University of Alberta
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Jo Milne-Home, Teaching Fellow for the College of Arts, has been at UWS since 1990. She was the recipient of the 2002 inaugural UWS Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and a National Carrick Citation Award winner in 2006. Within the College of Arts, her role is to provide leadership in implementing the projects in the Learning and Teaching Action Plan and work with the Associate Dean (Academic) to develop evidence-based forward plans within the Learning and Teaching Action Plan (LTAP) framework.

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College Manager

Jeanine Parsons
BA UTS, MA Syd
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Jeanine Parsons is College Manager for the College of Arts until July 2006. Since her first role at University of Western Sydney in 1995, she has held a number of senior administrative positions and was Senior Projects Officer for the College of Arts (2003-2005) and Executive Officer to the Dean, College of Arts (2001-2002).

Jeanine’s experience spans the areas of strategic planning, executive support, project management, policy research, public relations, and student and financial administration. Her research management experience includes coordination of several large research projects and consultancies in health and ageing.

Before joining UWS, Jeanine held administrative positions at the University of Technology, Sydney and the University of Queensland.

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