Renate Thelma Howe AM (born 1939) is an Australian academic and historian.
Her research and writing focuses on Australian social, urban and religious history.
In 1977 she was appointed to the team to set up distance education at Deakin University where she remained for most of her career.
On her retirement in 2005, she was appointed honorary associate professor in the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University.
[3] In the 2012 Australia Day Honours, Howe was appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for "service to higher education and to the arts through administrative and academic roles, and to the community, particularly through heritage and cultural organisations".