Collaboration, story and engagement are fundamental to Dr Monica Short's research and teaching. Monica is a senior lecturer at CSU in the School of Social Work and Arts. She has a degree in Social Work, a Master of Social Welfare (Welfare and Social Policy) and a Ph.D. by publication through Charles Sturt University (CSU). Her thesis is titled – 'The Australian Anglican Church engaging with people living with disabilities and from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in rural, regional and remote communities'. Monica has worked for over 20 years in large government organisations in professional, project management, and managerial roles.

Monica coordinates the International Network of Co-operative Inquirers https://incinq.csu.domains She is a member of Gulbali, the Anglican Church of Australia Mission and Ministry Commission and an adjunct Centre Scholar with the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture. In 2021, Monica jointly coordinated a social work and humanities teaching and learning during and post-COVID-19 think tank. From 2017 to 2018, she was co-chair of the ACT/NSW Combined Universities Field Education Group.

Monica has several awards for her research and teaching.

In 2024, Monica received an Executive Dean's Teaching Award for: leading by developing a corpus of scholarship for teaching online or face-to-face, including how to embed into subjects innovative, kind, impactful, codesigned transformational learning opportunities.

In 2023, Monica was one of the recipients of The Australia and New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research Prize with the theme: Being Global, regional and Local in Education in Australasia and The Pacific. It was for achievement in research about collaborations between communities and education for: work-integrated learning, human services or social work. Also, in 2023, Monica received the School of Social Work and Arts Award for 2023 Highest Student Experience Survey Scores.

In 2021, Monica received one of the Faculty Research Awards. She also was one of two recipients of the St Mark's National Theological Centre Greg Eather Memorial Prize for meritorious work in Christianity and Australian Society.

In 2020, Monica received The Australia and New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research Field-University Collaboration Award; and was one of a group of recipients who received a CSU Excellence Award.

In 2016 Monica received the Australian New Zealand Social Work, Welfare and Research Field Placement Recognition Award for championing innovative models for research. 

Monica is on Ngunnawal and Ngambri land and is based in Canberra.

The psycho-social-spiritual-physical resilience and well-being of individuals and communities in their environments are the focus of Monica's research. Her personal research narrative is to generate meaning that enhances and respects individuals, groups and communities within practice, education and research (Short, Barton, Cooper, Woolven, Loos & Devos, 2017, p. 104). Honouring emic (insider) and etic (outsider) knowledge, valuing relationships, collaboration, sharing power, promoting social justice and upholding egalitarian principles are central principles for her research (Short, 2018, p. 233). Monica applies an integrated lens with an epistemological base in social work, sociology and theology in her work; and she utilises methodologies such as co-operative inquiry, ethnography, literature review, and case studies. Her research contributes to the CSU research narrative of the development of individuals and thriving communities with strong social frameworks where harmony resides.   

More information about Monica's research can be seen at: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=ldt-4GcAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

The heutagogical principle of collaborative learning characterises Monica's teaching. Monica is a part-time social work lecturer and social sciences researcher at Charles Sturt University. She is both teaching and research active. Her personal teaching pedagogy is, 'To enable students to think critically about their evolving context, to foster resilience and skills, to instigate change and to maintain social work values' (Short, Trembath, Duncombe & Whitaker, 2018, p. 12). Monica teaches in accordance with the CSU Strategic Focus of fostering belonging and connectedness.

She has course coordinated, convened, tutored in and/or marked the following subjects:

• Indigenous Academic Success Program
• HCS111 Introduction to Human Services
• HCS303 Social Work Field Education 1
• HCS505 Social Work Field Education 1
• HCS402 Social Work Field Education 2
• HCS506 Social Work Field Education 2
• HCS200 Social Work Theory and Practice 1: Foundations of Practice
• HCS507 Social Work Theory and Practice 1: Foundations of Practice
• SWK424 Social Work Field Education 2A
• WEL418 Case Management
• WEL523 Contemporary Theories of Case Management