Professor Gibson is currently a Professorial Research Fellow in Western Sydney University’s Institute for Culture and Society.
The feminist economic geographer is the first professor from Western Sydney University to hold the Chair in Australian Studies position at Harvard.
She is renowned on a global level for her work on diverse, ‘more-than-capitalist’ economics and as an advocate for ‘community economics’.
“This opportunity is incredibly exciting. I am especially looking forward to the prospect of introducing students at Harvard University to the work of antipodean feminists whose writing has reframed thinking about the body, ecology and the economy,” said Professor Gibson.
With her long-time collaborator, the late Professor Julie Graham, Gibson has developed a distinctive approach to economic geography and initiated a research program that has become a vibrant sub-field of study within the social sciences.
On Professor Gibson’s appointment at Harvard, Western Sydney University Vice-Chancellor Professor Barney Glover AO, highlighted the importance of cross-cultural academic opportunities.
“I congratulate Professor Gibson on this highly prestigious appointment and as the first appointee to the role from Western Sydney University. Her work at Harvard will enable the academic collaboration that we encourage and will serve as a significant contribution to the rich intellectual discourse between our two countries”, said Professor Glover.
The position was established through a gift of the Australian Government to Harvard University to further the understanding of Australia in the United States and enrich Australia-United States bilateral relations.
Some of Australia’s most celebrated intellectuals have held the Chair over the past 35 years, including Gough Whitlam, Charles Manning Clark, Geoffrey Blainey, Raewyn Connell, Tim Flannery, Paul Kelly, Timothy Rowse and Dame Leonie Kramer.
Congratulations Katherine.