Professor Maria Raciti is a social marketer who uses marketing tools and techniques to bring about social justice and behaviour change. Professor Raciti is a Director of the Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre, an Adjunct Fellow with the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education and was part of an Australian Government departmental taskforce assisting with the 2019 National Regional Rural and Remote Tertiary Education Strategy.
Maria is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK), is regularly engaged as an expert advisor and has undertaken several large scale research projects that have produced meaningful and impactful outcomes.
Professional memberships
- Australian Association of Social Marketing
- Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy
Awards/Fellowships
- Adjunct Fellow with the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education
- Departmental taskforce with the Australian Government Department of Education ('Napthine Review'), 2019
- Research Fellow with the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (Final Report), 2018
- Emerald Literati Award for 2018 Highly Commended Paper for International Journal of Event and Festival Management (Journal Article)
- Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK), 2017
- Vice Chancellor's Medal for Outstanding University Teaching, 2006
Professional Social Media
External research grants
| Project name | Investigators | Funding body | Year/s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adaptation of an online mental health and wellbeing education and support intervention for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males in Australia (Phase 1, Pilot) | Smith, J., Watkins, D., Stahl, G., Canuto, K., Gupta, H., Rung, D., Tari-Keresztes, N., Black, O., Prehn, J., Anderson, P., Raciti, M., Dingwall, K., Drummond, M., Clinch, D., Vigona, J., Bonson, J., Aanudsen, D., & Moore, S. | Movember Social Connections Challenge, Movember Foundation (Global) (A$10,000) | 2021-2023 |
| Education Building capabilities for success: Targeting preparedness for ongoing learning | Dinan-Thompson, M., Nakata, M., Fredericks, B., Raciti, M., Bunda, T., Barney, K., Tomaszewski, W., Heberlein, W., O’Neill, Y., Sanmarco, V., and Mitchell, G. | Regional Partnerships Project Pool Program, Australian Government (A$101,876) | 2022 |
| Implementing Indigenous knowledge approaches in doctoral education | Manathunga C, Qi J, Raciti M, Singh M, Gilbey K and Stanton S | 2021 Australian Research Council (Discovery Project), Australian Government ($A277,459) | 2021-2024 |
| Success from the perspective of the successful: Low SES students, success and completion in higher education | Rubin, M., Evans, O., Burke, P. J., Bennett, A., O’Shea, S., Allen, K., Denson, N., Howley, P., McqQeen, S., Mills, C., Naylor, R., & Raciti, M. | 2018 Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program, National Priorities Pool, Australian Government Department of Education (A$324,311) | 2019-2022 |
| How the perceived risks of going to university influence the decision by people from low SES backgrounds to participate in Australian higher education. | Raciti M | National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (A$215,000) | 2018 |
| Widening regional and remote participation: Interrogating the impact of outreach programs across Queensland | Trinidad S, Kelly M, Mitchell, G, Koshy P, Li I, Zacharias, N, Raciti M, Costello D |
2016 Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme, 2016 National Priorities Pool, Australian Government Department of Education and Training (A$320,000 Category 2) |
2017-2018 |
| Increasing female participation in sport: Queensland Oztag | Powell B, Raciti M |
2017 Advance Queensland: Knowledge Transfer Partnership Program, |
2017-2018 |
| The 'University Place': How and Why Place Influences the Engagement and Retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander University Students | Raciti M, Carter J and Gilbey K |
Office of Learning and Teaching Seed Grant (USC) (A$40,000). |
2016–2017 |
| Social Marketing Strategy for Low Socio-economic-status Communities: Widening Participation in Higher Education | Kelly M, Flynn K, O'Brien G, Trinidad S, Russell-Bennett R, Drennan J, Eagle L and Raciti M |
Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program, National Priorities Pool (A$580,000) Research and Strategy Phase Final Report |
2015–2016 |
| Professional Learning Conversations for Academic Leadership in Learning and Teaching | Readman K, Rowe J, Raciti M, Nugent M and Nemeth J |
Office of Learning and Teaching (USC) Extension Grant (A$30,000). |
2013 |
| Valuing the Portfolio of Festivals and Events on the Sunshine Coast | Gration, D and Raciti M (with Getz D, UQ) |
Sunshine Coast Regional Council; Sunshine Coast Destination Ltd.; Tourism Events Queensland and Faculty of Arts and Business USC (A$36,000) |
2012–2013 |
| Developing Sustainable Industry for Pacific Island Communities | Wallace H, Carter J, Jones K, Johns C, Randall B, Pauku R and Raciti M |
Pacific Agribusiness Research for Development Initiative (A$1.12M) |
2011–2014 |
| Indigenous Sunrise Project: School to University Pathways | Raciti M (Project Leader), Tuovinen J, Powell B, Sellwood J and Taylor P |
Department of Education, Science and Training Funding (A$85,000) |
2007–2009 |
Research areas
- services marketing
- social marketing
- higher education
Teaching areas
- Marketing Essentials
- Marketing for Social Change
Select research publications
- Raciti MM 2019, Career construction, future work and the perceived risks of going to university for young people from low SES backgrounds, Research Fellowship Project Booklet, National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. Perth.
- Raciti MM, Carter J, Gilbey K & Hollinsworth D 2017, The ‘university place’: how and why place influences the engagement and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students, E-booklet, Project Deliverable for Promotion of Excellence in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (PELTHE), Australian Government Department of Education and Training, Canberra.
Maria's research interests are in the area of student attrition and Indigenous student pathways and transition into university.