Jeannie Rea

Jeannie Rea chairs postgraduate programs in International Community Development and Planetary Health, as well as teaching Gender Studies.

She has a key role in VU’s commitment to planetary health – “In all that we do in our research, our teaching, on our campuses and in our communities, we work to improve the health and wellbeing of our local and global communities, and the planet that we share.”

Jeannie Rea returned to Victoria University in late 2018 after completing two terms as the National President of the National Tertiary Education Union, which is the key industry union for all staff working in Higher Education. She has developed expertise in gender analysis, trade unions and higher education locally and globally.

Jeannie Rea has been a professional educator and advocate in the postsecondary sector for over three decades. Starting her career in TAFE and the Technical Teachers Union of Victoria, she then worked at Victoria University for almost twenty years teaching and researching in gender studies, labour history, environmental science, public relations and public advocacy, with focus upon intersectionality and social change. She previously held education leadership roles in governance and management at VU including Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development, and Head of the School of Communication and the Arts.