Professor Quigley became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waikato in early 2015. Since his appointment he has led substantial change designed to improve the quality of teaching and research, align staffing with the challenges of the modern tertiary environment, and increase engagement with communities around the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and central North Island regions.
The impact of this change is demonstrated by the University’s recent growth in student enrolments and rise in international rankings. Professor Quigley was previously Professor of Economics, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Provost at Victoria University of Wellington, and Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. Professor Quigley has extensive governance experience, and is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and Chair of the Risk and Assurance Committee of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.
Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Professor Alister Jones
BSc Otago, MSc PhD Waikato DipT MRSNZ
Professor Jones was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor in 2011 and became Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor in 2015. He is the former Dean of Education and was previously Research Professor and Director of the Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research at the Faculty of Education. He has managed and directed research projects that have informed policy, curriculum, and teacher development in New Zealand and internationally. His main areas of research are curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment, particularly in science and technology education. He has acted as an international consultant in curriculum and assessment and building educational research capability. In 2000, he was awarded the NZ Science and Technology Medal for his significant contribution to the development of technology education both nationally and inte
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic
Professor Robyn Longhurst
BSocSc MSocSc PhD Waikato
Professor Longhurst was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic in 2015, following a term as Pro Vice-Chancellor Education. She is a Professor of Geography. Her work in gender, cultural and social geography is known and respected in New Zealand and internationally. Professor Longhurst has served as Chair of the Commission on Gender and Geography of the International Geographical Union and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Gender, Place and Culture. In 2010 she was presented with the Distinguished New Zealand Geographer Award. In the same year she received a University of Waikato Teaching Excellence Award and in 2013 a University of Waikato Research Postgraduate Supervision Excellence Award. She was a Member of the New Zealand PBRF Peer Review Panel ‘Social Sciences and Other Cultural/Social Studies’ in the 2006 and 2012 Quality Evaluation.
Pro Vice-Chancellor Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences
Professor Allison Kirkman
BA Massey, BA(Hons) PhD Victoria (Wellington)
Professor Kirkman began her working life as a nurse and midwife in Christchurch. She then went on to complete a BA extramurally from Massey University and a BA(Hons) and PhD in Sociology from Victoria University of Wellington. Professor Kirkman was appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences in 2019 and prior to this she held the role of Acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Prior to joining the University of Waikato, Professor Kirkman held appointments at Victoria University of Wellington including Vice Provost (Academic and Equity), Head of the School of Social and Cultural Studies and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Her teaching, research and publications are in the sociology of health, gender, sexuality, dying and death. She was the Deputy Chair of the National Ethics Committee on Health and Disability Research for a six year term and also Convener of the Victoria University Human Ethics Committee.
Pro Vice-Chancellor Education
Professor Don Klinger
BSc BEd Br.Col, PhD Alberta
Professor Klinger joined the University in 2018 as Dean of Education, and was then appointed to the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor Education in 2019. He is a renowned researcher in assessment, measurement, and evaluation. His research explores measurement theory, the evolving conceptions of formative and summative assessment, and the uses and misuses of large-scale assessments and databases to inform educational policy and practice. With more than 130 manuscripts and reports, national and international research funding, and previous leadership experience in the post-secondary environment (Queen’s University, Kingston), Professor Klinger brings his skills and dedication to research and teacher education to Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato – the University of Waikato
Pro Vice-Chancellor Health, Engineering, Computing and Science
Professor Geoff Holmes
BSc(Hons) PhD Southampton
Professor Holmes gained an Honours Degree and Doctorate in Mathematics from the University of Southampton in the UK. Following a research position in the engineering department at Cambridge University, he joined Waikato in 1987 as a lecturer in computer science, and rose up the academic ranks. He was appointed Dean of the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences in 2008, and then Pro Vice-Chancellor Health, Engineering, Computing and Science in 2019. His major research interest is in machine learning, a topic that involves mathematics, statistics and computer science. He is best known both locally and internationally for his contributions to applied machine learning, deploying theoretical frameworks in practical situations. He is currently involved in collaborative research with local industry to provide automatic analysis of analytical testing procedures.v