All Lincoln graduates are automatic members of the Lincoln University Alumni Association. Established in 1906, the association is a registered non-profit organisation. It is managed by a voluntary Executive who provides support and guidance to the Alumni and Development Office. Executive members serve for at least two years.
The Executive’s role is to:
- Further Lincoln University’s objectives and interests
- Record alumni activities and preserve the history of the University
- Keep Lincoln University friendships alive
- Offer scholarships and other prizes, including the LUAA Degree Scholarship, LUAA Diploma Scholarship, and the Neil Gow Memorial Scholarship.
The association holds a mid-year annual general meeting, which all alumni are welcome to attend. If you live in Canterbury and would like to attend quarterly Executive Committee meetings, please contact the Alumni and Development Office. A set of revised rules for the association were approved at the AGM on 31 May 2013.
Meet Your Alumni Team
Penny Curran
Alumni and Development Officer
Penny is a Lincoln University graduate with a Bachelor of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Commerce. Born in Christchurch and a past pupil of Christchurch Girls’ High School, Penny spent 10 years in Australia after graduation, working in the agribusiness sector, and local and state government in Queensland. Appointed as an Alumni & Development Officer at Lincoln University in 2012, Penny focuses on alumni engagement including planning, management and conduct of many large and small alumni reunions and events on the Lincoln campus, New Zealand and Australia. Penny is also the Secretary for the Alumni Association, and Educate Plus, the organisation for advancement and development professionals in the education sector.
Lisa van Vuuren
Alumni Database Coordinator
Following administrative positions in the electricity industry, travelling overseas, and settling down to have a family, Lisa began studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Canterbury. Twenty years of part-time study and work later, Lisa graduated PhD in History in 2020. While working on her thesis, Lisa held positions as a database administrator at Christchurch’s Aranui High School and Linwood College.
Lisa is delighted to be working with Lincoln University alumni, and she regards the university as ‘progressive and friendly with an impressive history’.
Within the Alumni and Development Office Lisa has specific duties around database and website management and fundraising, but she also assists with activities such as the organisation and hosting of reunions and social functions, responding to enquiries, and producing publications.
Ian Collins
Heritage Writer
‘Heritage’ involves a celebration of the past and a re-packaging and presentation of it for purposes in the present. It is not the same as ‘history’ although obviously related.
As ‘Heritage Writer’ Ian works within the Alumni & Development Group to celebrate Lincoln University’s past and utilise it for the commercial, marketing, development and other imperatives of today. That past is extremely rich in the lives, careers and achievements of the University’s alumni, hence Ian’s location within the Alumni & Development Group, where he works closely with Penny and Anisha. Ian has a career background in education and journalism, and has a BA (Education) from Massey University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Tertiary Teaching from Canterbury University.