New departments get new heads

New departments get new heads

Lincoln University has announced its Head of Department appointees for the four newly established departments making up the recently revamped Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce (previously the Faculty of Commerce).

The appointees are:

• Dr Tracy-Anne De Silva: Department of Financial and Business Systems

• Dr Michael Lyne: Department of Agribusiness and Markets

• Mr Guy Trafford: Department of Land Management and Systems

• Dr Mark Wilson: Department of Global Value Chains and Trade

The new departments and the new faculty name are the latest in a series of developments aimed at enhancing the Faculty’s relevance to the agribusiness and food marketing sector.

One example of changes made in recent times include last year’s qualifications reform, which involved consultation with industry and was instigated to ensure the University’s business programmes remain aligned to the commercial needs and changing landscape of the primary sector.

“I’m very pleased to be able to welcome these individuals into these very important positions,” says the Dean of the Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce, Hugh Bigsby. “I’m looking forward to working with them to ensure the Faculty achieves its goal of being known as the premier provider of tertiary level agribusiness programmes in Australasia.

“The investment and changes we have made so far represent our commitment to agribusiness: an industry which is tremendously important for New Zealand’s economic viability, and one with enormous potential,” he says.

About the appointees:

Dr Tracy-Anne De Silva

Tracy-Anne De Silva completed her PhD at Lincoln University in 2009 in Environmental Accounting. Her research interests include sustainability and corporate social responsibility, with a focus on environmental practices and behaviour. She has taught into a range of accounting courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate level, and has been involved with a number of curriculum developments for accounting and finance over the years. In November 2004, she was appointed as a lecturer in a continuing position with Lincoln University and has held the position of senior lecturer since July 2009.

Dr Michael Lyne

Michael Lyne studied at the University of Natal where he completed BScAgric, MScAgric and PhD degrees majoring in Agricultural Economics. He joined the Department of Agricultural Economics as a lecturer in 1982, and was promoted to full professor in 1998. In 2007 he was appointed Associate Professor of International Rural Development at Lincoln University, and Honorary Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Much of his research has focused on institutional arrangements to promote smallholder access to markets and to manage shared resources. His research designed and launched South Africa’s Land Reform Credit Facility and established equity-share schemes for land reform beneficiaries and farm workers in the post-apartheid era. Michael was a founding director of the LIMA Rural Development Foundation. He has recently returned from South Africa where he presented the prestigious Tomlinson Memorial Lecture hosted by Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa.

Mr Guy Trafford

Guy Trafford holds a BCom(Ag) and a MApplSc (Farm Consultancy) from Lincoln University. His area of research and academic expertise is in farm systems modelling and analysis, linear programming, and other Excel based techniques. He brings with him a wealth of experience in applied sheep and beef farming, and, while competent in (cow) dairy programmes, has a particular passion for sheep systems; in particular, sheep dairy. He is also currently in the process of setting up a sheep dairy unit near Darfield. His current research includes the impacts of carbon prices on East Coast North Island sheep and beef farms; the future proofing of dairy systems; and the analysis and mitigation of the environmental impacts of farming systems.

Dr Mark Wilson

Dr Mark Wilson specialises in supply chain management practice and research. He holds a PhD in Supply Chain Management and a BCom(Hons) from Lincoln University, and a BBS from Massey University. He has over 23 years of industry experience in the fields of logistics, strategic supply chain management and operations at both tactical and senior managerial levels, as well as extensive experience in integrated military logistics. Mark’s current research interests are in value chain strategy and structure, network theory and complex adaptive systems, behavioural processes in the supply chain, and humanitarian logistics and disaster relief supply chains.

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