Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards announced

___________________________________________________________

NZVCC Electronic News Bulletin Vol. 7 No. 10 12 June 2007
¬¬¬___________________________________________________________

Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards announced

New Zealand's top tertiary teachers were recognised at a ceremony hosted by Tertiary Education Minister Dr Michael Cullen at Parliament tonight. The awards recognise excellence in tertiary teaching, with 10 educators receiving the Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award (TTEA) for Sustained Excellence($20,000 each). Selena Chan, Principal Academic Staff Member at Christchurch Polytechnic, received the evening's highest honour, the Prime Minister's Supreme Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award ($30,000).

Other award winners are: Margo Barton, Academic Leader - Fashion, Otago Polytechnic; Donna Buckingham, Senior Lecturer - Faculty of Law, University of Otago; Dr Christine Rubie-Davies, Senior Lecturer and Programme Director, University of Auckland; Associate Professor Katharine Dickinson, Ecology and Botany, University of Otago; Dr Diane Johnson, Senior Lecturer - Applied Linguistics, Department of General and Applied Linguistics, University of Waikato; Associate Professor Angus McIntosh, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury; Peter Mellow, Senior Lecturer - Flexible Learning Advisor, Auckland University of Technology; Dr Tracy Riley, Lecturer - School of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Massey University, and Dr Bryan Walpert, Lecturer - School of English and Media Studies, Massey University.

NZVCC Public Records Act Working Party

The NZVCC, through its Public Records Act Working Party (PRAW), has contracted SWIM Ltd (www.swim.co.nz) to undertake a pilot to scope a General Disposal Authority (GDA) for university records which come under the Public Records Act (2005). The pilot project will be completed in July.

The development of a GDA is an essential step in assisting universities to become compliant with the Public Records Act (PRA). It will include minimum time periods for retention (before disposal) and state which types of material must be retained permanently. The final GDA, after public consultation, will need to be signed off by the Chief Archivist. The Chair of PRAW - Massey University Librarian John Redmayne - notes, however, that there are substantial benefits to universities in managing records in accordance with record-keeping standards (as well as the legal requirements for compliance with the PRA).

ITPNZ appoints new executive director

The Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics of New Zealand has appointed Dave Guerin as its new executive director. He will take up the post in August. Guerin's appointment follows the resignation of the incumbent, Martin Eadie, to join a team establishing a new polytechnic in Bahrain. Guerin is best known in the tertiary education sector as a representative of a number of private provider groups through his company Education Directions.

TEC chair retires

The retirement of Tertiary Education Commission Chair Dr Russell Marshall has been confirmed by Tertiary Education Minister Dr Michael Cullen after the appearance of advertisements for the position. In a media release the minister said Dr Marshall had made an outstanding contribution to education in New Zealand for more than 30 years. Dr Marshall's resignation takes effect from the end of this month. A former Chancellor of Victoria University, Dr Marshall was a MP for 18 years, being Minister of Education during his two terms in Cabinet. Prior to his role at TEC, he chaired its predecessor, the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission, as well as Education New Zealand and the international education consultancy PINZ. A former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr Marshall also chaired the National Commission for UNESCO and served as this country's permanent representative to that body. An interim TEC chair will be appointed shortly with the permanent replacement likely to be announced in September.

Christchurch venue for NZ International Education Conference

The 16th New Zealand International Education Conference - the premier annual event for this country's export education industry - will be held in Christchurch from August 8 to 10. Confirmed speakers include Mr John Lynch, Chief Executive of Education Ireland; Professor Simon Marginson, Professor of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne and advisor to the OECD on educational rankings; Tertiary Education Minister Dr Michael Cullen; Professor David Greenaway, Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy at the University of Nottingham; Dr Maurits van Rooijen, Vice President for International and Institutional Development at the University of Westminster and Mr Tran Ba Viet Dzung, Director General of International Co-operation at the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training. A full conference programme is available at: www.educationnz.org.nz/conference

ends

© Scoop Media