Dame Anne Salmond named New Zealander of the Year

1 March 2013

Distinguished Professor Dame Anne Salmond named New Zealander of the Year

Dame Anne Salmond, Distinguished Professor of Māori Studies and Anthropology from The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Arts, and renowned New Zealand author, has been named New Zealander of the Year.

Honouring the achievements and contributions of an inspirational Kiwi, the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year is awarded to someone who has given outstanding service to the country, and provided inspiration to New Zealanders through their achievements.

Dame Anne received the title for her services in Māori and Pacific studies, with the award presented at a gala dinner held at Auckland’s Langham Hotel 28 February.

“It was so moving and so special to me because it came from the grassroots and flaxroots of New Zealand. It was an extraordinary evening,” says Dame Anne.

Professor Stuart McCutcheon, Vice-Chancellor of The University of Auckland expressed The University’s pride at Dame Anne’s achievement: “We are delighted for Anne, and extremely proud of this very deserving acknowledgement of her outstanding service to New Zealand, and New Zealanders. It is an honour to have her on our staff at the University, and on behalf of her many colleagues and friends I offer her our heartfelt congratulations.”

Dame Anne is author of seven award-winning books and a myriad of articles on Māori life, cross-cultural encounters in New Zealand and the Pacific. She has many honours and titles to her name, and has served on a number of boards including chair of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, and is a former Pro Vice-Chancellor (Equal Opportunities) at The University of Auckland. She is Project Sponsor for the Starpath Partnership for Excellence, which aims to ensure that Māori, Pacific and low income students achieve their potential through education.

Dame Anne received a custom made New Zealand trophy and $5000 towards her work from principal sponsor Kiwibank.

Recent Honours and Distinctions

2013 – New Zealander of the Year
2013 – Green Fellowship, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
2012 - Residency, Rockefeller Foundation Centre, Bellagio
2012 - Plenary lecture, EfSO Conference, Bergen
2011 - KEA World Class New Zealander - Science, Technology and Academia
2010 - Plenary Lecture, International Conference of Anthropological Sciences, Perth
2009 - Foreign Associate, US National Academy of Sciences;
2009 - Keynote Lecture, Social Sciences and Humanities, Pacific Sciences Conference, Pape’ete
2008 - Corresponding Fellow, British Academy;
2008 - Waitangi Rua Rau Tau Lecture, New Zealand Parliament, Wellington;
2007 - Hakluyt Lecture for the Hakluyt Society, London;
2007 - Montana Prize for History for Vaka Moana, contributing author;
2007 - Founding Fellow, New Zealand Academy of the Humanities;
2006 - Visiting Professor, École des Haute Études, France;
2005 - Special Lecture, International Congress for Historical Sciences, Sydney;
2004 - Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement;
2004 - Montana Medal for Non-Fiction for The Trial of the Cannibal Dog;
2004 - Visiting Fellow, Cross-cultural Research Centre, Australian National University;
2004 - Caird Fellow, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, United Kingdom;
2002 - Distinguished Professor, The University of Auckland.

ENDS

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