Emeritus Professor Colleen Hayward AM - Winner of ECU's 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award

Some 50 years since graduating from Edith Cowan University (ECU) with a Diploma of Teaching (Primary), Professor Colleen Hayward AM has been named the winner of the Distinguished Alumni Award 2025. Pivoting from teaching after a cancer diagnosis in her 30s, the highly respected senior Noongar woman has been a trailblazer throughout her illustrious career, reflecting the needs of minority groups at community, state and national levels. Colleen has provided significant input to policies and programs on a wide range of issues across the fields of health, education, training, employment, housing, child protection, and law and justice.