The past month has been a welcome period of collaboration and celebration. 

Our valued partnership with The Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation has resulted in scholarships being awarded to two stunning Māori legal scholars, Amelia Kendall and Pita Roycroft, who will pursue postgraduate studies in the US - read more about them below. Dr Hona Black was also named as this year’s Fulbright NPM Scholar and will undertake research on te reo Māori at the University of Hawai’i. We have also partnered with the organisers of the ‘Designing our Constitution’ Conference to support an upcoming public lecture by the UN Rapporteur, Francisco Calí Tzay, at Waipapa Marae on 4 April.

We were thrilled that some of our NPM whānau could attend the pōwhiri at Otākou Marae for our former Pou Matarua, Professor Jacinta Ruru MNZM FRSNZ, who was appointed as the university’s inaugural Deputy Vice-Chancellor Māori. Jacinta is used to leading the way, having been the first Māori professor of law in Aotearoa and, with Linda Tuhiwai Smith, the first wāhine Māori to be made a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi. We know Jacinta will bring exceptional leadership and impact to her new role.

Ngā Pou Matarua | Co-Directors

• Professor Tahu Kukutai

• Professor Linda Waimarie Nikora