Denise Chalmers, AM

Denise Chalmers is Professor Emeritus in the field of higher education teaching and learning at the University of Western Australia.

In 2023 Denise was recognized for her overall contribution to higher education when awarded the Australian Award for University Teaching: Career Achievement Award. In 2021 she was awarded an Order of Australia (AM) for contributions to higher education. In 2017 she was awarded Life membership by HERDSA. She was granted an OLT National Senior Teaching Fellowship on recognising and rewarding university teaching in 2015.

Over 25 years, she has demonstrated leadership in higher education, leading two university Centres of Teaching and Learning as Director and was a Foundation Director of the Carrick Institute (later ALTC) with responsibility for Awards, Fellowships and International Links. She has served as President and then as Vice President of the Council of Australian Directors of Academic Development (CADAD) 2008-2014. She has initiated and led several institutional, national and international initiatives and projects including developing and embedding teaching quality criteria and indicators and promoting the use of teaching and learning performance indicators to guide decision making and resource allocation. Denise has provided significant university and sector-wide leadership through initiating and implementing enhancement initiatives including developing and embedding teaching quality criteria and indicators, assessment and curriculum review and reform, enhanced teaching and learning through the strategic use of online and communication technologies, promoting student focused teaching and learning practices, and identifying and promoting the use of teaching and learning performance indicators to guide decision making and resource allocation. Denise is an active contributor to the scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education through publications, proposing and participating in innovative and successful competitive grants and projects, speaking engagements and working with networks and institutions nationally and internationally. Denise contributes to the national and international agenda on developing and enhancing teaching and learning and criteria, standards and indicators of quality in higher education.