Geoffrey "Geoff" James Whitty CBE (born 31 December 1946) is Professor for Equity in Education at the University of Newcastle, Australia and a former director of the Institute of Education, University of London, in the United Kingdom.Born in 1946, Whitty was educated at Latymer Upper School and graduated from St John's College, Cambridge. After postgraduate study at the Institute of Education, he became a lecturer in education (sociology and social studies) at the University of Bath in 1973.