Dawn Sylvia Freshwater - Biography#
Professor Dawn Freshwater was appointed as Head of the School of Healthcare at the University of Leeds in 2007, she was also appointed to the personal Chair in Mental health. After 4 years of leading the School through a major transformation and positioning the School for its 6th place ranking in the Nation, she was appointed to the PVC role, the first nurse in the University fo achieve such a position.
Her contributions to public health and leadership practices won her the highest honour in her field of scholarship - Fellowship of the Royal College of Nursing. As an academic, she has contributed to almost 200 publications, and continues to provide supervision to PhD students. Professor Freshwater is a strong advocate for values-led and inclusive leadership, about which she has written and researched extensively. Indeed she was asked to lead the Global Education dialogue on Inclusive Leadership by the British Council in Hong Kong.
Professor Freshwater is past Chair and Director of the Group of Eight, past Chair of the Matariki Network of Universities, Chair of the Partnership Board of the Worldwide Universities Network and the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association, and Board Director of Lifeline WA and the Perth USAsia Centre. She was also instrumental in leading the development of the UWA Public Policy Institute, which creates a bridge between academic research and government, public and business needs.
The Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) is a leading global higher education and research network made up of 23 universities, spanning 13 countries on six continents. WUN brings together major universities that sit in widely diverse geographical and cultural contexts, and which in partnership provide an unparalleled richness of talent and resources that are brought to bear on major research problems. It is the first time that a nurse has Chaired this network.
She is a Board Director of the Perth USAsia Centre. The Perth USAsia Centre is a non-partisan, not-for-profit institution strengthening relationships and strategic thinking between Australia, the Indo-Pacific and the USA. The Centre is a leading think tank focusing on geo-political issues, policy development and building a strategic affairs community across government, business and academia. Dawn is the only and first health professional to sit on this Board.
She has contributed extensively to the advancement of nursing research, knowledge and practice, and has an international reputation for the quality of both her research and the high quality assessment of research she provides. As a Governor of the Forrest Research Foundation, an international philanthropic Foundation, she works with other Governors to attract outstanding minds to undertake high quality research with the potential to address global challenges. The Foundation was established in 2014 following one of the largest ever philanthropic donations in Australian history, of $135 million by Andrew and Nicola Forrest through the Minderoo Foundation.
She has made a wide ranging contribution to Medical Humanities, both with regards to research methods and also creative approaches to interdisciplinary improvements in patient outcomes.
She has made a lasting contribution to the professional development of prison health professionals, specifically nurses, notably in her work on clinical supervision, published as guidance by the UKCC. As a result of this definitive work, she was invited to consult for the Office for Corrective Services as an Inspector for Nursing and Allied Health in the Corrective Services, which provides support to the justice system and the community by ensuring the security and safety of detainees and prisoners as well as offenders on community-based orders, with a focus on rehabilitation.
Her work on suicide prevention in young people is implemented in practice through her Directorship at Lifeline WA and the
Young Lives Matter (YLM) Foundation, a large-scale interdisciplinary research initiative focused on combating the issue of youth suicide.
