Rate My Professor Robert Lingard

Dr. Robert G. Lingard is a Teaching Associate in the Faculty of Health at Southern Cross University, with additional teaching associate roles in the Faculty of Education. He holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours (BSc Hons) from the University of New South Wales, a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) from Melbourne College of Divinity, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Sociology from Southern Cross University, awarded following research conducted from 2009 to 2019. His doctoral thesis, titled "Human reproductive cloning in Australian public policy debate: A critical realist exploration of attitudes and their justifications," investigated public attitudes toward human reproductive cloning during Australian policy debates spanning 1997 to 2006. Earlier in his career, Lingard worked as a scientific officer in hospital laboratories, focusing on immunology and tissue culture. From 2006 to 2020, he served as Senior Pastoral Care Coordinator in Southern Cross University's Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care Service. He has taught social theory and qualitative research methods and currently holds an Adjunct Senior Lecturer position in the Faculty of Health.

Lingard's scholarship employs a Critical Realist framework to examine causal mechanisms underlying social issues affecting human wellbeing. His research specializations encompass spiritual care and chaplaincy in higher education, human reproductive cloning, values, ethics, and health-related outcomes, including dementia care and clinical evaluations. He is a volunteer member of Southern Cross University's Human Research Ethics Committee in the pastoral care category, serves on the executive committee of Dementia Inclusive Ballina Alliance Inc., acts as a high school chaplain, and is a Disaster Relief Chaplain. Key publications include "Examining a Holistic Framework for Evaluating Clinical Outcomes in Parallel with Non-Clinical Outcomes" (2025, co-authored with Louise Horstmanshof), "A Butterfly in the Labyrinth: Describing a 5-Domain Model to Guide Labyrinth Research" (2025), "Information, Truth and Meaning: A Response to Budd's Prolegomena" (Journal of Documentation, 2013), "Spiritual Care within a Higher Education Setting: Identifying Spiritual and General Interventions" (2019 conference paper), and "Clinical Exercise Physiology Students Learning with Older Adults: An Innovative Simulation-Based Education Programme" (2016). His work aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through qualitative investigations into care provision and wellbeing support.