Since joining UNE, Nathan has held various leadership positions, including Manager of the DEHUB: Innovations in Distance Education Research Centre and Associate Dean Teaching and Learning for HASSE. His research focuses on workplace cultures, identities, and moral economies, particularly in military environments. This research has aided Nathan in his role as Executive Dean.
“As a scholar of workplace cultures, and recognising that we spent most of our waking hours at work, I am highly cognisant of the importance of having a happy and healthy working environment,” said Nathan.
“Throughout everything I do in my role, I always strive to consider how this might impact our health and wellbeing.”
Nathan is excited about the future of HASSE, particularly as UNE moves into a strong growth phase in 2025 in spite of the challenges facing the arts today. Despite the downwards trend in humanities over the past decade, UNE has seen a 30% increase in applications to the Bachelor of Arts, the humanities’ bellwether course.
“It’s early days, and much may change, but we’re seeing some very encouraging signs,” said Nathan.
Despite challenges such as budget constraints, Nathan remains focused on student engagement, retention, and success; key areas in which he has already made a significant impact. In 2022, he played a crucial role in establishing UNE’s First Nations Success Program, which has led to notable improvements in outcomes for First Nations students. Further to this, Nathan wants to encourage staff to become more connected and engaged with our community.
“There are so many opportunities for us to share our expertise and partner with stakeholders, but we often hesitate because we’re unsure how to get started,” said Nathan.
“In 2025, I want to lay the groundwork for staff to have the autonomy and confidence to form these connections.”
Outside of UNE, Nathan is known for his love of board games, with a collection close to 300! He enjoys games with strategic or logical challenges, particularly those encouraging teamwork.
“Cooperative games like Spirit Island, CO2: Second Chance, or Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective, are great examples of this. In those cases, ‘success’ depends on everyone working together well.”
Nathan’s piece of advice to students is to study what you love.
“I am someone who spent two years unhappily studying an engineering degree (because I felt it had a clear ‘job’ direction in mind), before finally having the courage to switch to pursue my love of history,” he said.
“We are at our best when we’re in environments that we enjoy, and the job market is remarkably diverse.
“Despite the myths, Arts graduates are immensely valuable recruits, and the knowledge and skills you develop in an Arts degree are superbly versatile!”
