Rate My Professor Raymond Kelly

Dr Raymond Kelly serves as the Deputy Head of the Wollotuka Institute for Indigenous Engagement and Advancement at the University of Newcastle, where he also holds the position of Honorary Lecturer in Indigenous Education and Research. A proud Dhangatti and Gumbayngirr man, he earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Aboriginal Studies from the University of Newcastle in 2015, with a thesis titled Dreaming the Keepara: New South Wales Indigenous Cultural Perspectives, 1808–2007. Additionally, he received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the same institution in 2006 and a Certificate IV in Workplace Assessment and Training from NSW TAFE. His earlier career includes roles such as Researcher at the Purai Global Indigenous and Diaspora Research Studies Centre from 2017 to 2018. Kelly has been instrumental in community leadership, serving as the inaugural Chairperson of the Awabakal Local Aboriginal Land Council, Chairperson and Councillor for the Sydney/Newcastle Region of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, member of the NSW Aboriginal Languages Trust, and former Board Member of the NSW Aboriginal Heritage Council. These positions have enabled him to foster relationships between Indigenous communities and government bodies while advising on language policy, school programs, and legislation.

Kelly's research centres on the recognition and revival of Indigenous languages, with particular emphasis on Dhangatti, Gumbayngirr, Aboriginal linguistics, and language revitalisation efforts comprising 100% of his fields of research. He co-authored the chapter Applying multilingual knowledge to decipher an historical song of change with J. Harkins, published in 2017. In 2020, he launched the innovative Muuya Banggi (Flying Breath) language program, a multi-media online initiative that unites community learners for pronunciation, word structure, and sentence practice. His expertise as a language researcher, speaker, and consultant has supported digital language resources and historical oral recording analysis. In 2019, he addressed the Australian Senate on First Nations languages. Kelly's contributions have been recognised with the University of Newcastle's Indigenous Alumni Award in 2025 and the Honorary Doctor of Letters in 2006. Through his strengths-based approach, he continues to advance Indigenous language ecologies and cultural heritage preservation.