Cert Ed. (Lond), B.Ed. (Lond), Dip RCSSD (Lond), MA (King’s College Lond), PhD (Griff.) ND, SSSSI.

Jim graduated from the Royal Central School and University of London and worked in professional theatre and performing arts before moving into teaching where he specialised in secondary arts education in urban settings. Later, during his MA studies, he was seconded to the West Indies where he researched and taught on the island of Tobago before eventually relocating permanently to Australia.

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In 1991 Jim moved to Griffith University to teach on their B.Ed and new BPA degree courses. Whilst at Griffith he developed the theory of critical ethnodrama research, a field of practice-based study which has become embedded in numerous arts and education courses around the globe. Jim’s research led to extensive publication activities and international presentations. 

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In 1999 he accepted the position of Foundation Dean of Education and Creative Arts at Central Queensland University where he later served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic & Research until moving to VU in Melbourne in 2006. At Victoria University, Jim was (interim) Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Industry prior to taking up the position of Executive Director of Higher Education for Abu Dhabi Government’s ADEC.

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During Jim’s years with Abu Dhabi’s education reform council (ADEC) he was (amongst many other things) significantly involved in contributing to the formation of quality and standards frameworks for tertiary entities, the establishment of New York University, Abu Dhabi, and La Sorbonne’s Abu Dhabi Campus and as the Vice Chancellor of ECAE, a teacher education university for Emirati students.

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In late 2013 Jim moved from the Gulf to Malaysia (or rather Sarawak, Borneo) to head Curtin University’s university campus there. As CEO, President and PVC, Sarawak, he continued to work closely with state and federal government representatives and agencies in cementing the Curtin Sarawak Campus’s role as a fully accredited foreign branch campus in Malaysia. 

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At the end of his time in Malaysia Jim’s contributions to Higher Education were recognised by Curtin University awarding him Professor Emeritus status. Since returning home in 2020 he has been occupied as an HE management and transnational operations consultant located in Melbourne.