Indigenous advocate, scholar joins CDU

An Indigenous academic who is dedicated to supporting Indigenous people to pursue education and bring about change, has joined Charles Darwin University as the Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Leadership (PVCIL).

A descendant of the Yuin/Wandandian and Ngarigo peoples of the south coast of NSW, Professor Reuben Bolt comes to CDU from the University of New South Wales, where he was Director of the Nura Gili Indigenous Programs Unit.

“My goal is to continue to make a meaningful contribution to the improvement of educational outcomes for Indigenous peoples in Australia,” Professor Bolt said. “We want to grow the next generation of Indigenous leaders who are able to competently and confidently make a contribution to the national debate on Indigenous issues.” 

An ambitious scholar with close to 20 years’ teaching and research experience, Professor Bolt said he was committed to the field of Indigenous Studies, the potential it has to build capacity in Indigenous communities and the potentially positive impact it could have when community engagement was implemented the right way. His research interests focus on identity issues, qualitative research methodologies, narrative analysis techniques and Indigenist research design.

Professor Bolt was the first person of Aboriginal heritage to graduate with a PhD at the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Health Sciences. He has convened more than 50 university courses across six higher education institutions in the Sydney region.

“As PVCIL, I am looking forward to making a national thought leadership contribution across issues that focus on Indigenous education, health and welfare,” he said.