Te Tari o Te Tumu Ahurei Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori and Kaitiakitanga provides strategic advice to ensure the University meets its obligations under Tiriti o Waitangi.
Professor Rawinia Higgins is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori and Kaitiakitanga and reports directly to the Vice-Chancellor, who is the University’s chief executive.
The portfolio has strategic oversight of all things Māori, including the Iho made up of Te Kawa a Māui, Te Herenga Waka Marae, Āwhina, and the Taihonoa partnerships with iwi and Māori organisations. The DVCMK also oversees the Sustainability Office, Development and Alumni Relations and the Adam Art Gallery, and the University Foundation.
Tumu Ahurei - Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Maori and Kaitiakitanga
DVC Māori and Kaitiakitanga
Professor Rawinia Higgins (Tūhoe) was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori / Tumu Ahurei of Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington in 2016. Her research expertise is Māori language revitalisation, specifically language planning and policy and she was instrumental in shaping the current Māori language legislation and policy framework.
Professor Higgins is currently the Chair and Commissioner of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori—The Māori Language Commission, and 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, including a member of the Waitangi Tribunal from 2011 to 2025, and a Board member of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand from 2022–2025. Professor Higgins was awarded an MNZM (Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit) in the 2025 New Year's Honours List in recognition of her services to Māori language, education and governance. In 2019, she received the Royal Society Pou Aronui Award for Humanities and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2021.
Toi Matauranga Maori - Assistant Vice-Chancellor, Matauranga Maori
DVC Māori and Kaitiakitanga
Associate Professor Meegan Hall (Pirirākau (Ngāti Ranginui)) provides strategic leadership to increase engagement with Māori knowledge and people in learning, teaching and research contexts, and supports Māori staff and Māori student achievement. Her research focuses on Māori in higher education.
Meegan is a principal fellow of the UK-based higher education advocacy group Advance HE, a principal investigator for Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence, and an executive member of the Māori Association of Social Science.
Linda Bowden
Pou Whirinaki - Executive Assistant and Portfolio Manager
DVC Māori and Kaitiakitanga
Linda Bowden is the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori and Kaitiakitanga and manages the day-to-day operations of the DVCMK's portfolio.
Tara Fisher
Mata Awhirangi / Manager (Maori), Awhina
Āwhina
Tara Fisher (Waikato-Tainui) is the Mata Awhirangi / Manager of Āwhina. The Āwhina team help all tauira Māori make the most of their university experience and navigate our processes and services.
Jay Houpapa
Manutaki - Director, Marae Engagement
Marae o te Herenga Waka · Office of the DVCMK
Jay Houpapa (Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngāti Konohi) is the Manutaki—Director, Marae Engagement. Her role is to provide strategic leadership, development and effective management of the marae activities and engagement opportunities (including Taihonoa) to ensure timely, effective, and integrated services that enhance the University's strategic objectives