Distinguished alumni awards

Every two years the University acknowledges a number of our top-achieving alumni.

Previous Distinguished Alumni recipients

• 2006
• 2009
• 2011
• 2013
• 2015
• 2017

2017

Podcast: In conversation with the 2017 distinguished alumni

• David Howman BA 1970, LLB (Hons) 1973

David Howman was the director-general of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). During his 13 years in the role, he led the establishment of the first worldwide anti-doping code for elite athletes, managed its global implementation and oversaw a two-year investigation into Russia’s sports-doping programme.

Before joining WADA, David had a successful legal career in sport law. In addition, he has served as chair of New Zealand Tennis, as a board member for the Hillary Commission for Sport, Fitness and Leisure, he has served on a panel working on New Zealand Rugby’s Respect and Responsibility review, and was the reviewer responsible for the report on Gymnastics New Zealand.

He is currently a sport integrity consultant in Wellington. He is the Chair of the Athletics Integrity Board, the Chair of World Squash Ethics Commission, Deputy Chair of the International Tennis Federation Ethics Commission, Chair of the International Cricket Council Anti-Corruption Oversight Group, and Chair of the Board for Cricket Wellington.

• Judge Ida Malosi BA 1985, LLB 1989

Judge Ida Malosi is a beacon for Pasifika men and women in the legal profession, serving as a District Court judge based in South Auckland with a particularly close involvement in the Youth Court and Family Court. She became New Zealand’s first female Pasifika judge when she was appointed to the Family Court in 2002.

She then became Samoa’s first female Supreme Court judge when she was seconded there in 2013 to assist in establishing that country’s Family Court and Family Violence Court. During her time in Samoa, she also implemented judicial settlement conferences and laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court.

• Stephanie McIntyre BA 1975

Stephanie McIntyre is an advocate for the most marginalised people in New Zealand, most notably those who are homeless. As Director at Wellington’s DCM, formally Downtown Community Ministry, she leads a team dedicated to working with people others often overlook, seeking new solutions to ending homelessness.

Stephanie champions difficult public issues to raise awareness about critical social issues. She has a long history of active community involvement in numerous national and local initiatives.

In 2016 she was made a companion of the Queen's Service Order for her work with Wellington's homeless.

• Professor Marilyn Waring BA Hons 1974

Professor Marilyn Waring is a prominent New Zealand economist and a leading activist for women's human rights.

After serving as an MP between 1975 and 1984, Marilyn went on to establish the field of feminist economics. Her most famous work—If Women Counted—argued for the importance of women's unpaid work and the environment, revealing the serious policy consequences of ignoring these when calculating national economic measures such as GDP.

More recently, Marilyn's work has focused on the inequalities of globalisation. She has received national and international awards for work in economics and human rights.

In 2005, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She has also been listed in Deloittes Top 200 Award for Visionary Leader in 2018, and the BBC's 100 Women in 2019. She was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for service to women and economics, in the 2020 New Years Honours.

2015

• The Rt Rev Dr Penelope (Penny) Jamieson DCNZM PhD 1977

Penny Jamieson was the first woman in the world to be ordained a diocesan bishop of the Anglican Church.

After only five years as Vicar of Karori West with Makara in the Diocese of Wellington, Penny was consecrated to the position of Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin. It was a role that was not without its challenges, but Penny approached her pioneering
position in the Church with humility, creativity and compassion.

• Tamati Kruger BA Hons 1979

Tamati Kruger, Ngai Tūhoe, (BA (Hons) in Māori Studies) is a Māori advocate and social and political analyst who has dedicated his career to the development of his iwi.

Tamati was instrumental in securing the largest Treaty of Waitangi settlement to date for the Central North Island Iwi Collective and was chief negotiator of the Tūhoe Te Urewera Treaty of Waitangi settlement.

• Helen Kedgley BA 1969

Helen Kedgley (BA in Political Science, 1969) is one of New Zealand’s most creative and outstanding curators and has worked at Pataka Art Museum in Porirua City since its inception in 1998, most recently as its director.

She has curated over 80 exhibitions of Māori, Pacific Island and contemporary New Zealand art. She remains active in a range of governance roles as trustees for the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Blumhardt Foundation, Pātaka Foundation, and the Wellington Sculpture Trust.

2013

• John Campbell BA Hons 1988

John Campbell is one of New Zealand's most respected journalists. Having started his career at Radio New Zealand in 1989, he went on to work in TV3’s press gallery before moving to television on current affairs show 20/20, 3 News and Campbell Live—TV3's nightly current affairs show Campbell Live for over 10 years. Since 2015, he has hosted RNZ’s Checkpoint programme.

Known for his unique and effective communication style, and a determination to seek answers on a wide range of issues, John has won multiple industry awards for investigative journalism. In 2014 he was awarded a Victoria University of Wellington Distinguished Alumni Award.

• Hon Georgina Manunui te Heuheu LLB (1972), BA (1966) QSO

Georgina Manunui te Heuheu graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a BA in English and an LLB, as the first Māori woman in New Zealand to graduate in Law. She went on to become the first Māori woman to be admitted to the High Court as a Barrister and Solicitor in 1972.

Of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa and Tuhoe descent, Georgina served five terms as a Member of Parliament from 1996 until 2011, including as a Minister of the Crown in two National Governments. She is Chair of Māori Television, and Deputy Chair of the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board.

She was awarded a Queen’s Service Order for services to the public in 1993. In the 2018 New Year Honours, she was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the State and Māori.

2011

• Taika Waititi BA 1997

Taika Waititi is a film director, writer, comedian and actor who has gained an international following.

He graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a BA in Theatre and Film and has gone on to write and direct a number of award-winning films. His 2015 film Hunt for the Wilderpeople is the largest grossing Kiwi film at the New Zealand box office, surpassing his earlier feature film Boy. Earlier credits include being nominated Best Actor in the New Zealand Film Awards for his role in the film Scarfies and an Academy Award nomination for Two Cars, One Night. Taika Waititi wrote and directed Academy Award-winning film Jojo Rabbit, based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, winning the latter. This made him the first person of Maori descent to win an Academy Award in a screenplay category, as well as the first indigenous person to be nominated and to win Best Adapted Screenplay.

In 2011 he received a Victoria University of Wellington Distinguished Alumni Award and was New Zealander of the Year in 2017. In the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, Waititi was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to film.

• Piera McArthur MA (1953), BA (1952)

Piera McArthur is a leading New Zealand painter whose original style is characterised by vibrant colour, movement and humour. After graduating with a Master of Arts in Modern Languages with First Class Honours from Victoria University of Wellington, she lived overseas for many years, exhibiting in Paris, London, New York, Sydney and Moscow between 1975 and 1990. This established her career as a painter and also presented opportunities for cultural diplomacy and to enhance New Zealand‘s reputation internationally. In Moscow, Piera was the first New Zealander to have a solo show at the New Tretiakov Gallery.

Over the past 20 years, she has exhibited extensively around New Zealand and undertaken commissions both locally and overseas.

In 2011 she was awarded a Victoria University of Wellington Distinguished Alumni Award and in 2012 was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to the arts.

2009

• Bill Day MBA (1993), LLB (1986), BA (1982)

Bill Day is a marine explorer and the Founder and Chairman of Seaworks. Bill's has been a marine consultant for Stephen Spielberg movies to providing support vessels on oil exploration projects. In October 2000, Bill Day won the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He won the award because of the success of his company, but what tipped it for the judges is his passion and bubbling enthusiasm for the task of being in business.

• Raewyn Dalziel PhD (1970), BA Hons (1966)

New Zealand historian specialising in New Zealand social history. In the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours, Dalziel was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to education

• Anne Meade PhD SOSC (1979), BA Hons (1973)

Anne has focused on early childhood education for most of her career spanning over 40 years, as a teacher, researcher, author, and policy developer. She was awarded a QSO in 1991 and a CNZM in 2008. In 2018, Anne was given the Minister of Education’s Life-time Achievements in Education Award.

• Janice Campbell MA (1965), BA (1962)

Janice Campell was the Principal of Wellington East Girls' College for more than 20 years and is a highly regarded educationalist.

A past Chair of the New Zealand Principals’ Council, Janice has been an active participant in the education debate, and in 2000 she was given an Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award by Wellington City Council. Janice gained her Bachelor of Arts in 1962, and her Master of Arts in 1965 from Victoria University.

• Bernice Mene BA 1998

Best known for her decade-long netball career, captaining the Silver Ferns in 1997, 2000, and 2001, Bernice Mene retired from international netball in 2001. Since then Bernice has involved herself in a range of projects, including sports writing and athlete career education work for the New Zealand Academy of Sport. She is also a qualified languages teacher and has taught English, French, German and Māori in various secondary schools in New Zealand.

She was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002 for her sporting achievements and in 2007 received a Victoria University of Wellington Distinguished Alumni Award.

• Ross Mountain BA 1969

Ross Mountain has spent most of his career in the service of the United Nations working on humanitarian, recovery, development and peacekeeping operations in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and the Pacific as well as assignments based in Geneva, Switzerland promoting non-governmental action and managing UN humanitarian operations.

Ross graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a degree in Asian Studies and Political Science. He was awarded Victoria University of Wellington Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007.

2006

• Jeremy Coney BA 1983

Jeremy Coney is one of New Zealand’s most successful cricketers, widely regarded for his entertaining after-dinner speaking. Following retirement from professional cricket, he became a sports commentator, television host and author. He received an MBE for services to cricket in 1986 and in 1990, he was awarded the New Zealand Commemoration Medal.

• Deirdre Tarrant BA 1967

Deirdre Tarrant has a distinguished career as a dancer, choreographer, and director. Her ballet background was with Jeane Horne and the then New Zealand Ballet Company. She founded the renowned Footnote Dance Company in 1985 and is principal of the Tarrant Dance Studios and committed to youth performance in the work of the Deirdre Tarrant Youth Theatre. She was awarded an MNZM in 2000 and in 2013 she was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

• Lady Jocelyn Keith BA Hons 1983

Jocelyn, Lady Keith is the former National President of the New Zealand Red Cross and a former registered nurse. She has been president of the New Zealand Nurses’ Association, former head of Victoria’s Department of Nursing Studies and friend of the Graduate School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health. She has held many professional, academic, public and private sector roles in nursing and health-related fields. Her outstanding contribution to the University was recognised in 2003 with an inaugural Hunter Fellowship.