Pictured (L to R): Dr Daniel Anson, Dr Robyn Westcott, Dr Jessica Johnson, Chloe Long

Dr Robyn Westcott, Director of the Academic Literacies Unit is a wordsmith by vocation and training.

Starting as a second-generation staff member at Macquarie in 1993, when she worked as a Research Assistant in the Modern History Department, her career has taken her on a circuitous route. She has worked in many industries from legal publishing to business writing, information design and surgical education before returning to Macquarie to research the first-year experience in late 2012.

Robyn’s fascination with language, literature and storytelling underpins her passion for equipping Macquarie students with the language and expressive skills necessary to realise their graduate ambitions, vocation or creative calling.

With professional expertise centred on Students as Partners initiatives and peer-led learning programs, Robyn’s commitment to empowering students through dialogue informed the development of WriteWISE, the University’s flagship student-led writing support program, which celebrated its 5000th student consultation in 2022.

Her dedication saw her receive the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Leadership Excellence this year.

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1. Something you feel proud of

The launch of The Writing Centre in February, and the approval of the Academic Language and Literacies Policy in October this year. We want Macquarie graduates to be clear, compelling and socially responsive communicators.

2. A person you admire at Macquarie, and why

My fabulously whip-smart and hilarious colleagues on the Learning and Teaching management team and our fearless leader, Professor Dominique Parrish.

3. What you need to do your best work

Conversation. For me, all ideas – especially those that are complex or demanding – evolve through dialogue.

4. Something you’ve read recently that has had an impact on you

I’m currently reading Anwen Crawford’s poetic essay ‘No Document’. It’s an elegy to the intensity of early adult relationships, the shared joys of art-making, and the resonating experience of grief and loss.

5. A favourite photo from your camera roll

This photo summarises four of my passions in life: books, cake, cafés and London. It was taken at the gorgeous Vida Bakery on Brick Lane in January 2020, just before the first international case of COVID-19 was reported. And yes, I usually read with a pencil or stylus in hand. Frankly, if a book isn’t scribbled through, it hasn’t been read.

6. Your definition of success

Creating possibilities where, previously, none appeared to exist.

7. The first person you go to for advice

My Dad. His compassionate pragmatism and clear-eyed rationality are a much-valued counterpoint to my own more intuitive decision-making.

8. A website or app you can’t live without

Apple Music. I was a high school ‘mixtaper’ and playlists take me back to 1991 all over again.

9. A personal quality you value in others

Generosity.

10. I’m happiest when…

I’m reading something beautiful, or otherwise captivating, pencil at the ready.