Vice-Chancellor's Fellow: Ms Cathy McGowan
Ms Cathy McGowan AO is a former politician, former teacher and strong advocate for higher education participation in regional and rural Victoria.
Cathy came to national attention when she won the rural Victorian seat of Indi as an independent in 2013. The community backed her again in 2016. In 2019 Indi made Australian political history when Dr Helen Haines was elected as Indi's second, independent woman.
During her time as a politician Cathy actively worked in Parliament to develop policy around regional development, constitutional change for first nations people and a solution to the indefinite detention of asylum seekers.
In 2019 Cathy was awarded The Accountability Round Table award for political integrity. She was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2004 "for service to the community through raising awareness of and stimulating debate about issues affecting women in regional, rural and remote areas."
Cathy is a La Trobe University Vice-Chancellor's Fellow, a Churchill Fellow and lives very happily on her farm in the Indigo Valley in NE Victoria.