Kathleen Raponi is a Senior Lecturer in the First Year College and specialises in teaching first year law units in VU Block mode.
After completing her Bachelor of Laws (Hons), she was admitted to legal practice in the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia. She worked as a lawyer for a number of years. During her legal career she has also volunteered at Wyndham Legal Service, Fitzroy Legal Service and the Communications Law Centre.
Since 2015, Kathleen has been working as a law lecturer at Victoria University. She has taught a number of different law units including Family Law, Privacy and Media Law, Australian Legal Systems in Context, Law and Practice, Legal Writing and Drafting and Legal Research Methods. In addition, she is a contributing member of the Course Advisory Group Committee and the Teaching and Learning Committee. She also co-coaches the Victoria University Kirby Moot Team.
Kathleen is passionate about creating unique and experiential learning experiences for students. Her previous experience as a legal practitioner informs her approach to teaching. She has received the Vice Chancellor Citation Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and two First Year College Awards, recognising her innovative design and implementation of first year law field trips. She was also awarded the Australian Awards for University Teaching, Citation for Outstanding Student Contributions 2022 (Parliament Program)
Kathleen is also the Director of Projects for International Block and Intensive Learning and Teaching Association (IBILTA). She has established and coordinates the quarterly IBILTA Thought Leader Series and is the lead organiser of the IBILTA 2024 Research Conference.