Prof Rawinia Higgins

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Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Engagement

Vice-Chancellor's Office

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Linda Bowden

Executive Assistant and Office Manager
PVC Maori/Iwi Studies

About Professor Rawinia Higgins

Professor Rawinia Higgins (Tūhoe) was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Māori | Tumu Ahurei of Victoria University of Wellington in 2016, and is currently also the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Engagement.

Professor Higgins was previously the University’s Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Māori Research) and Head of School for Te Kawa a Māui—School of Māori Studies. She came to the University as a senior lecturer in 2009 after holding academic positions at the University of Otago for 12 years.

Professor Higgins is a member of the Waitangi Tribunal, a Board member of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and the current Chair and Commissioner of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori—The Māori Language Commission. She  is the first woman to be appointed to this position. She was elected as a Pacific Region representative on the Global Taskforce for the UNESCO International Decade of Indigenous Languages. Professor Higgins has been appointed to a number of governance and advisory board roles for government, Māori and iwi.

Her research expertise is Māori language revitalisation and, more specifically, language planning and policy. She was instrumental in shaping the current Māori language legislation and policy framework. In 2017, Rawinia was awarded the Te Waitī award for te reo and tikanga at the Matariki awards.

In her role as Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori she is responsible for Āwhina, the Living Pā, Te Herenga Waka Marae, and strategic leadership for all things Māori across the University.

In her role as Deputy Vice-Chancellor Engagement, she is responsible for alumni, donors and supporters, communications, marketing, rankings and reputation, strategic partnerships, Wellington University International, the Confucius Institute, Te Herenga Waka Press, the Adam Art Gallery, and the South East Asia and Latin America Centres of Asia-Pacific Excellence.

Professor Higgins graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a Diploma in Māoritanga l Tohu Māoritanga and a Bachelor of Arts, and has a PhD from the University of Otago. She is a Fellow of Te Apārangi the Royal Society of New Zealand, a Principal Fellow of the HEA and also holds an RSA/Cambridge CELTA qualification.