The AUT Power List

NEWS | MAHI

Written by Caeden Tipler (they/them) | @caedentipler | News Editor

Staff and students are often attracted to AUT for what makes it different from other universities. Themes of practical knowledge and equity frequently emerge when people are asked what makes AUT, AUT. 

This direction is not accidental. Considerate effort is put into shaping the university to align with this vision; the feeling of the campuses, how AUT is perceived by others, and the principles underpinning degrees - to name a few examples. The people who lead this are the Senior Leadership Team.

Many students won’t know who is in this team, and when they do it’s often due to scandals. Infamous incidents include Vice-Chancellor Damon Salesa making headlines for the dismissal of 170 academic jobs in 2022 while his own six-figure salary shot up, or calls for resignations in senior leadership following a 2021 investigation into 200 complaints of bullying and sexual harassment at AUT. 

In a quest to learn how these illusive and occasionally controversial figures who shape our university perceive themselves and their jobs, I visited their offices, caught up over Zoom, had extended kōrero at cafés and received written responses when possible. Discussions were shaped around the leaders most obviously relevant to students - our Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor, as well as the Pro Chancellors who lead the different departments we study in. Below is a summary of their mahi - a.k.a, the AUT Power List. 

The Structure of AUT’s entire Senior Leadership Team.

The Heavyweights               

                                                

Rob Campbell - Chancellor

In Rob Campbell’s own words, In the analogy where the senior leadership are a board of directors, the Chancellor is the Chair. Put simply, the role of the council is to set strategies and policies and to make sure the university is financially sustainable -The Chancellor oversees this process. Rob Campbell, with his strong corporate background, was approached by the Council for this role. He told me he always had a view that universities should not be elitist and noticed AUT was the university trying to do something different from the norm, so he accepted. 

The centre of Campbell’s vision for AUT is his desire to see a ‘healthy university.’ This includes a range of goals; encouraging equitable access to education, a healthy work environment, fair pay, fair process, a healthy place for students to study, pastoral care for students who live on campus, and a healthy place for research. What underpins this ideal of a healthy university is Campbell’s belief that “to be a healthy university, we need access to our community. We can’t be a healthy university if we are elitist and disconnected from our communities.” He notes AUT has made significant progress in this space, but there’s still a lot of work to be done, including a focus on implementing Te Tiriti o Waitangi across the university. Campbell phrases this as a “genuine desire to be a Te Tiriti based university” from the Council. However, he’s not naive enough to ignore the looming threats to Te Tiriti, and Te Ao Māori, from right-wing organisations and the government. 

In many ways, it is appropriate that a university “trying to do something different” has a Chancellor who reflects this. Campbell has been outspoken on a variety of social issues, including rights for Māori, LGBTQ+ communities, women and disabled communities. He lost his roles as Chair of Te Whatu Ora and board member of the Environmental Protection Agency over comments criticising the National Party’s opposition to Three Waters. It makes sense now then that he’s well aware of the challenges marginalised students, especially Māori students, face under the coalition government. There is no doubt his views have remained consistently to the left, and his high-profile governance roles, including his current role as AUT’s Chancellor, have not wavered them. 

We ended our kōrero with Campbell emphasising his desire for the Council process to be as accessible and open as possible. He encouraged students to attend their hui and read the minutes online. He’s also around campus often - more than other Chancellors - and wants students to kōrero on the issues that matter to them with him when they see him. 

Rob Campbell and I enjoying our kōrero at Bestie Café. 

Damon Salesa - Vice-Chancellor

Damon Salesa has an impressive list of accolades. Following his successful career as an undergraduate Arts student, he went on to become many “firsts”l He was the first Rhodes Scholar of Pacific descent, which through a journey of many high-profile positions in academia, led to him becoming the first Vice-Chancellor of Pacific descent at a New Zealand university. He’s still a renowned scholar (despite having to pause a lot of this work), and in his spare time he recently won an Ockham for his book ‘An Indigenous Ocean’. 

Our kōrero began with him describing his day-to-day to me, where he said he “often finds himself having to explain the role.” In many ways, he explained, it’s the equivalent role to a school principal and he considers himself to be the “kaitiaki of AUT.”  He makes sure AUT is taken into account by the government, iwi, alumni, industry and other “community stakeholders”.

His ‘why’ is the students. He misses teaching and will still occasionally sub in. He wants students to know that he loves hearing their stories, including the challenging ones. He recognises the efforts students put into even just turning up, and believes the university has a responsibility to match that effort. When I asked about the issues students are facing such as cost of living and mental health challenges, he said he had made a note to include solutions to these issues as part of the university strategy document. The solutions include flexibility for students and an emphasis on AUT’s unique practical learning which gives students a reason to come to campus. Crucially, Salesa does not shy away from the fact students come to University because they want/need jobs when they graduate. Salesa’s AUT focuses on creating graduates that the world, including the workforce, needs. 

Throughout the interview, Salesa stated that it is his career in academia that grounds him today. He said his background is always connected to how sees and acts in the world, including his desire for equity. He wants the quest for knowledge to feel relevant for everyone. This belief even comes through in how he described his commitment to Te Tiriti. AUT’s Te Reo Māori name embodies this best -Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau references one of the three baskets of knowledge - Te Kete Aronui. This basket focuses on knowledge as discovery and innovation, and the transformative power of education.                                 

Vice-Chancellor Damon Salesa can be contacted at damon.salesa@aut.ac.nz.

Damon Salesa on the AUT Website

The Interviewees 

Kate Kearins - Pro Vice-Chancellor

Kate Kearins is the Pro Vice-Challencer and Dean of the Business, Economics, and Law faculty. Her aim is to teach students to care, question, and act responsibly -she’s especially proud of the compulsory courses on ethics and social impact in business. She kept referring back to this phrase - “social impact.” In her own words, “We need a large and diverse army working to solve the unsustainability issues facing the world.” She sees an opportunity for AUT to be part of a new wave of university, industry, government and community working together to make a positive social impact. She wants her students to be part of this.

She’s noticing this term - social impact - is more and more relevant in our rapidly changing world with shorter and shorter innovation cycles As a result, new advancements in areas such as Artificial Intelligence will be very familiar to AUT business and law students. She’s stayed at AUT because it’s “more edgy, less bureaucratic”, which makes this kind of rapidly developing tertiary curriculum possible. She’s the champion of a university that is streamlined, systematic, and in touch with the world outside of academia. 

Pro Vice-Chancellor Kate Kearins can be contacted at kate.kearins@aut.ac.nz. 

Professor Kate Kearins. Image Supplied.

Pare Keiha (Whānau-a-Taupara, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata) - Pro Vice-Chancellor

Pare Keiha holds three portfolios; Dean of Te Ara Poutama - the Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Development, Dean of the Faculty of Culture and Society, and Pro Vice-Chancellor - Māori Advancement. He sets strategies for the university and is responsible for student success in these areas. He’s especially proud to support the success of Māori students - Keiha describes all of this as “the best job in the world.” In his own words, “I am part of a whanau who change young people's lives, their whanau, and the communities into which they were born - forever. And so we do magic together on a daily basis.”

His vision for AUT is one based on the university’s combined “commitment to equity and excellence.” He is proud of the level of “world-class” education students receive, especially because it is an education that is “applied and relevant.” In his responses, Keiha emphasised his connection to his students as being a key part of his role. This includes his connection to the postgraduate students he supervises (“ambitious young Māori scholars who have a commitment to serving their communities”) and his alumni who he is proud to see “continue serving the communities into which they are born.”

Pro Vice-Chancellor Pare Keiha can be contacted at pare.keiha@aut.ac.nz.

The Others 

Several other Pro Vice-Chancellors are also particularly relevant to students but were not available for an interview. They include Guy Littlefair, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean for the Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies, Brett Cowan, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean for the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, and Jacoba Matapo, Pro Vice-Chancellor Pacific.

Guy Littlefair - Pro Vice-Chancellor

Guy Littlefair oversees some of the biggest, most well-known schools at AUT. He is responsible for the influential School of Communication Studies, including it’s Journalism programme, at a time when this industry is rapidly changing. In 2018, after his Inaugural Professional Address, Littlefair told AUT he is motivated by knowing he can make a difference to young people and New Zealand more broadly. 

Pro Vice-Chancellor Guy Littlefair can be contacted at guy.littlefair@aut.ac.nz. 

Brett Cowan - Pro Vice-Chancellor

Brett Cowan became Dean of Health and Environmental Sciences in 2023. He came from the Crown Research Institute, where he served as Chief Scientist and General Manager Research, Head of Commercialisation and Māori Economy. Shortly after Cowan’s selection as Pro Vice-Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor Damon Salesa told AUT that “Brett is deeply committed to the health and wellbeing of Aotearoa, to uplifting all of our communities, and understands how AUT has been and will continue to be, a leader in this mahi. He knows first-hand the critical role of Allied Health professions, and understands the opportunity presented by the faculty’s unique combination of health, sports and science.”

Pro Vice-Chancellor Brett Cowan can be contacted at brett.cowan@aut.ac.nz. 

Jacoba Matapo - Pro Vice-Chancellor

Jacoba Matapo became Pro Vice-Chancellor Pacific in 2023. Her background is in the School of Education, Faculty of Culture and Society where she specialised in Pacific Education Research. Her research had a particular focus on “activating Pacific philosophies and relational ontologies, to confront education politics and discourse that continue subjugating Pacific people’s language, culture, spirituality and identity in education outcomes.” Last year, Matapo was part of an AUT campaign that encouraged parents to value their children's education, including at the tertiary level. As part of this campaign, she said she sees AUT’s role as “fostering strengths alongside leading academics in the field, amazing researchers in this space, and changemakers.”

Pro Vice-Chancellor Jacoba Matapo can be contacted at jacoba.matapo@aut.ac.nz