Mary Ryan is Professor and Dean of Education at Monash University. She has an extensive record of research impact, designing and delivering learning and leadership programs that bring together world-class researchers, sector and industry experts to advance education quality and equity at local community, industry, state and national levels. She is acknowledged internationally for her research in teacher education, reflexive learning and writing pedagogy. She co-designed the innovative APTT program in Qld and NSW to attract and retain teachers in hard to staff schools, utilising community hubs and the latest research to inform teacher and preservice teacher professional learning.

Her research has focused on education across the lifespan, investigating the texts, literacies, learning, and teaching in classrooms, schools, higher education institutions and workplace learning. Current projects include investigating a reflexive approach to teaching writing in an era of GenAI; developing pre-service teachers’ epistemic reflexivity to teach to diversity; and tracking the enabling and constraining conditions of different pathway programs into teaching.

She has attracted more than $16 million in external funding, including Australian Research Council grants in teaching for diversity in teacher education and improving classroom writing. Professor Ryan has received multiple awards and honours for her achievements in teaching and research, including being named in both the SCOPUS and Stanford University global top two per cent of researchers in education. 

As a leading advocate for education, Professor Ryan has advised state governments across multiple states on educational issues and teacher education. She has been President of the New South Wales Council of Deans of Education, Chair of the Education Research Council for Australian Independent Schools New South Wales, member of the ACT Ministerial Inquiry into Literacy and Numeracy and board member of the NSW Education Standards Authority. She is a Principal Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and is the recipient of a national award for outstanding contributions to student learning.