Jean Blackburn

Jean Edna Blackburn (née Muir, 14 July 1919 – 2 December 2001) was an Australian educationalist. Blackburn graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1940 and pursued a career in education. She became an advocate for quality teaching and resources in Australia, working on the Committee of Inquiry into South Australian Education in 1969-1970. In 1972, she was appointed as deputy chairperson of an interim committee for the Australian Schools Commission, which produced the influential Schools in Australia report in 1973. Blackburn was a full-time member of the commission from 1974 to 1980, during which time she was associated with the Disadvantaged Schools Program. She later chaired a Ministerial Review of post-compulsory schooling in Victoria and the Victorian Board of Education. Blackburn was the first chancellor of the University of Canberra, appointed in 1990. She was awarded an AO twice, returning her first award in protest, and was posthumously inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2002. Career Prior to commencing a teaching career, Blackburn attended the University of Melbourne, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Economics in 1940. After completing a Diploma of Education, Blackburn pursued a career in education firstly working as a high school teacher in Adelaide. Her work in education soon extended to becoming an advocate for quality teaching and resources for children being educated in Australia, which saw her working as a consultant on the Committee of Inquiry into South Australian Education in 1969 and 1970, chaired by Peter Karmel.