Alumni profile

Deborah Radford is a Non-Executive Director and a Council Member at La Trobe University. 

She holds a Bachelor of Economics from La Trobe, and is a member of the Class of 1976.

When Deb attended the University in the '70s, the gender 'norms' were still very much in place. She was determined to buck the trend.

“We were told even in secondary school that we were going to be wives and mothers," Deb said.

"Therefore, to come here and study commerce was really going out on a limb.

“A lot of my female friends at the time said ‘Why wouldn’t you do teaching?’ and I said ‘Well, I don’t want to be a teacher.' It would be a wrong step to accept something knowing full well that you weren’t going to proceed with that.”

Deb said that it was a "historically interesting" time when she was a student at La Trobe.

"It was just post the Vietnam War and some of the protesters and the draft-dodgers had hidden out in Menzies College and only the Federal Police were allowed on campus," she said.

After her groundbreaking career in the banking industry, Deb is now Deputy Chancellor of La Trobe. She praised the impact the University is having in regional areas.

“I believe that what’s happened in Mildura and Shepparton and Albury … having the University in those towns is quite profound," she said.

"It changes the lives of a lot young people."

Deb also strongly believes in the direction of La Trobe.

“The five research focus areas that have been articulated for the University means that each one of those areas will be world-class," she said.

I’m quite excited about the future and what the University can be and will be.

Business and commerce

Last updated: 7th May 2019