Key people in the College of Health and Science

• Executive Dean
• Associate Dean (Academic)
• Associate Dean (Research)
• Associate Dean (Development and International)
• College Manager

Executive Dean

Professor Beryl Hesketh

Professor Beryl Hesketh is Executive Dean of the College of Health and Science. She was previously the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Sciences and Technology) at the University of Sydney where she managed five large faculties (Architecture, Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Engineering, Science and Veterinary Science). She was also the Dean of Science at the University of Sydney for four years and Head of Department of Psychology at Macquarie University.

Professor Hesketh is an eminent and currently active researcher. She has published widely internationally, and has been a recipient of Australian Research Council (ARC) funding continuously since 1987. She has also served on, and chaired, one of the ARC Large Grants panels.

Through her role in several cooperative research centres and on the boards of spin-off companies, she has experience in the commercialisation of intellectual property and the creation of productive university-industry links.

Professor Hesketh is a reviewer for the Australian University Quality Authority, with current and past participation in reviews of universities in New Zealand and Australia.

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Associate Dean (Academic)

Dr Betty Gill

Dr Betty Gill is the Associate Dean Academic in the College of Health and Science. Betty’s disciplinary area of expertise is in health policy and bioethics and she has substantial experience of teaching in these disciplines to a broad range of health professionals at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level. Her primary area of research focuses on the ethical aspects of health resource allocation, particularly in the context of an ageing society. Her PhD thesis was entitled: Health Care Choices and Priorities in an Ageing Society and she continues to research and publish in this area.

Since taking on the role of Associate Dean Academic her research interests have extended to include quality issues in higher education and the scholarship of learning and teaching.

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Associate Dean (Research)

Dr Shelley Burgin
BSc (Griffith University), MSc (University of Papua New Guinea), PhD (Macquarie University).

A/Professor Shelley Burgin is the Associate Dean Research in the College of Health and Science and Provost of the Hawkesbury campus of the University. Appointed with the inception of the University of Western Sydney, A/Professor Burgin laid the framework and supported the development of studies in biology, environmental science and molecular biology on the Hawkesbury campus, together with the introduction of Honours and graduate programmes. In addition, A/Professor Burgin has extensive experience in teaching in developing countries including at the University of Papua New Guinea and she played a role over several years in an AusAID project that was implemented to upgrade the eastern universities of Indonesia.

A/Professor Burgin was recognised as a leading Australian environmental scientist in 2001 as a Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society for her ‘total contribution to the advance of the science of zoology’. The multidisciplinary breadth of A/Professor Burgin’s research is demonstrated by publications across environmental and landscape management, with a particular emphasis on herpetology and aquatic research. She is currently a researcher within the CRC for Irrigation Futures.

A/Professor Burgin has supervised approximately 100 graduate research projects over the last 20 years spanning honours, masters and PhDs. Excellence in this area was recognised in 2002 with the award of the inaugural Vice Chancellor’s Excellence Award for Postgraduate Research Training and Supervision, and in 2007 A/Professor Burgin was among the ‘Top 20’ researchers for graduate student completions.

Among her many achievements has been membership of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Crocodile Specialist Group, and a wide range of statutory and advisory bodies associated with natural resource across the New South Wales ‘green’ government departments. Among her varied current roles A/Professor Burgin continues as a Councillor of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Patron of the Hawkesbury Alumni Chapter, and a member of the University of Western Sydney’s Senate.

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Associate Dean (Development and International)

Julie Lantz.

Julie completed her initial undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from Seattle University and the University of Washington in the areas of human biology, nursing, anthropology and health administration with educational qualifications obtained from Charles Sturt University

Prior to undertaking the position of Associate Dean (Development and International), Julie’s roles included the management of transnational educational units, commercial enterprise entities, postgraduate nursing supervision and collaborative partnerships in the development and promotion of quality teaching materials delivered via e-learning platforms.

Julie is a registered nurse and has practiced in the areas of high dependency, palliative care and community health. Working in the area of Juvenile Justice, adolescent health care issues have been a focal point for teaching and research interest particularly in the areas of high risk behaviour, drug usage and mental health promotion. Julie has also worked for many years as a science and senior biology high school teacher, particularly with students with behavioural challenges.

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College Manager

Lynn Jackson

Lynn has a Bachelor of Administration from Griffith University and a Master of Commerce from UWS. She is also a certified practising accountant. Lynn started at UWS in 1992 in the Faculty of Commerce as the Administrative Manager. She undertook an 18 month secondment to the position of Acting Financial Accountant before moving to the Faculty of Education in early 1997 as the Business Manager. At the end of 1997, Lynn moved to the role of Management Accountant in the Finance branch. Since early 2005, Lynn has been the Acting College Manager in the College of Science, Technology and Environment and, following the college merge, was successful in the substantive role of College Manager in the College of Health and Science.

Lynn's special areas of interest are business process re-engineering and process redesign, cost analysis, and financial management.

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