Celebrating the 2025 FBE & MBSL Deans’ Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Award Winners
The Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE) and Melbourne Business School Limited (MBSL) proudly announce the recipients of the 2025 Deans’ Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Awards, recognising exceptional leadership and innovation in advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion across our community.
Now in its fourth year, the awards celebrate individuals and teams whose research, teaching, and initiatives have created lasting positive impact within and beyond the University. The 2025 recipients exemplify the University’s commitment to building a more inclusive, respectful, and connected learning and working environment.
Thought Leadership and Intellectual Contribution Award
Associate Professor Victoria Baranov, Department of Economics
Project title: Championing Gender Equity in Research, Research Training, and Institutional Culture
Associate Professor Baranov was recognised for her pioneering research on gender, mental health, and masculinity norms, which has reframed how economists understand social and cultural dimensions of inequality. Her work has informed global organisations such as the World Bank, UNICEF, and the UN, and led to the creation of the FBE Gender Lab—a hub for embedding diversity and inclusion within the Faculty’s research culture.
L to R: Dr Jenny George, Dean of MBS and Co-Dean of FBE, Associate Professor Baranov, and Professor Paul Kofman, Dean of FBE
Promoting Diversity and Inclusion Award
Dr Miriam Edwards, Williams Centre for Learning Advancement
Project title: Proactive strategies towards disability and inclusive teaching practice in FBE
Dr Edwards was acknowledged for her leadership in promoting disability inclusion and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Through her research and faculty-wide workshops, she has helped academics reimagine how accessibility and inclusion can be built into teaching, curriculum design, and assessment practices.
Sonja Heydeman, Christina Arampatzi, D’arcy McGregor and Joan Too, Melbourne Business School
Project title: The Digital News Academy: Empowering Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners
This team was recognised for their work delivering the Digital News Academy, a partnership between MBS Executive Education, News Corp Australia, and Google. The program has trained more than 800 journalists across Australia and the Pacific—including from Indigenous, multicultural, and LGBTQIA+ media—empowering underrepresented voices in digital journalism and shaping more inclusive media practices.
L to R: Dr Jenny George, Dean of MBS and Co-Dean of FBE; Sonja Heydeman, DNA Academy Director; Professor Paul Kofman, Dean of FBE; Christina Arampatzi, DNA Operations Manager; Joan Too, DNA Student Success Coordinator; and D’arcy McGregor, DNA Operations Lead
Inclusive Teaching Award
Dr Katrina Reynen-Woodward, Associate Professor Samuelson Appau, and Professor Jennifer Overbeck, Melbourne Business School
Project title: Culturally Conscious Leadership Program
This innovative executive education program was celebrated for embedding cultural self-awareness, empathy, and inclusion into leadership development. Through storytelling, reflection, and peer learning, the program encourages leaders to understand how their own cultural values and experiences shape their leadership style and impact, fostering more inclusive and psychologically safe workplaces.
L to R: Professor Paul Kofman, Dean of FBE, Associate Professor Appau who accepted the award on behalf of the team, and Dr Jenny George, Dean of MBS and Co-Dean of FBE
A Celebration of Inclusion in Action
The 2025 award recipients exemplify the values of Advancing Melbourne—showing that inclusion, equity, and respect are foundational to meaningful education, research, and leadership.
Congratulations to all our winners and nominees for their inspiring contributions to building a more inclusive University community.