Vale – Dr Cathy Downes
It is with great sadness that the Centre for Strategic Studies has learned of the passing of our former colleague and Non-Resident Fellow, Dr Cathy Downes.
It is with great sadness that the Centre for Strategic Studies has learned of the passing of our former colleague and Non-Resident Fellow, Dr Cathy Downes.
Cathy was a widely admired New Zealand strategic studies scholar whose career moved between universities and defence institutions in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. She graduated from the University of Auckland with a BA in Geography and Political Studies, then completed an MA in International Relations and Strategic Studies and a doctorate at the University of Lancaster.
After a short period back in New Zealand, she was appointed a John M. Olin Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Harvard's Center for International Affairs, followed by post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. At ANU, she wrote her first book, Special Trust and Confidence – The Making of an Officer (Frank Cass, 1990) and also co-edited Security and Defence – Pacific and Global Perspectives, with Desmond Ball (Allen & Unwin, 1990). In 1990 she joined the New Zealand Defence Force, serving on its civil staff and rising to a senior executive role working for successive Chiefs of the Defence Force on a wide variety of projects.
Cathy then spent fifteen years as Professor of Strategy and Policy at the U.S. National Defense University's College of Information and Cyberspace in Washington, D.C. Her work there earned recognition including the Joint Meritorious Unit Award (2010, 2015) and selection as a Top 40 E-Learning Innovator by the U.S. Center for Digital Education in 2013.
In July 2018, she returned to New Zealand and joined us at the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. Cathy supervised Masters and PhD work, and was a key part of the Centre’s delivery of the Master of Strategic Studies degree to the NZDF Advanced Command and Staff College. She also taught on cybersecurity and the future of war. Cathy was a dedicated teacher who always found time for her students. Cathy retired in 2024, but kept up an affiliation with CSS as a non-resident fellow.
Our condolences to her many friends and family.