Honorary degrees for prominent New Zealanders

Honorary degrees for prominent New Zealanders

The University of Auckland is bestowing honorary doctorates on three prominent New Zealanders: Rt Hon. Sir Peter Blanchard, Sir Graeme Douglas and Sir David Levene, in recognition of their major contributions both to the University, and to the wider community.

Each will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at a ceremony at the Maidment Theatre on Wednesday 29 October, 5.30pm.

Rt Hon. Sir Peter Blanchard
Sir Peter is one of the country’s leading jurists. He has made a significant contribution to New Zealand in his work as a judge, author and law commissioner. Sir Peter completed an LLB at the University of Auckland in 1966 and an LLM in 1968. He then gained a Fulbright scholarship and a Frank Knox Fellowship to attend Harvard University, where he obtained a further master’s degree in Law.

Returning to New Zealand, he became a partner in Auckland law firm Simpson Grierson. Sir Peter was a director of several listed companies until his appointment to the High Court in 1992. He was also a member of the New Zealand Law Commission from 1990 to 1993.

He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 1996, made a member of the Privy Council in 1998 and appointed to the New Zealand Supreme Court upon its creation in January 2004. He was awarded the Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM) in 2005 for his services to the judiciary, which was re-designated a KNZM in 2009. In 2011 he was made a distinguished alumnus of the University of Auckland.

Sir Graeme Douglas
Sir Graeme and his wife Ngaire established Graeme Douglas Pharmacy in Te Atatu South and it is from there that he launched a remarkable career in pharmaceuticals. Notably, he created a cough syrup called Kofsi, which triumphed on the global market.

In 1967 Sir Graeme formed a company for the manufacture as well as importation and distribution, of niche pharmaceuticals. Douglas Pharmaceuticals Limited today employs 460 people and exports to 45 countries. It has an annual turnover of $150 million and is the second largest employer in Waitakere, after the Auckland Council, and the only remaining New Zealand-owned and operated pharmaceutical company.

Sir Graeme and Lady Ngaire have made a major contribution locally and nationally over many years through their philanthropy. Sir Graeme is a long time contributor to the Pharmacy Education and Research Foundation and through Douglas Pharmaceuticals sponsors pharmacy student awards. In 1988 he was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to the country’s pharmaceuticals industry. The Pharmacy Guild made him a life Member in 2000 and in 2009 he was awarded their Gold Medal, the highest of the Pharmacy Honours. In 2012 he received a Kea World Class New Zealand award and was named a Laureate in the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.

Through the Neurological Foundation, the Douglas Charitable Trust has supported brain research at the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland, most recently through a gift for a Senior Neurosurgical Research Fellow, and pledged a significant donation to the new Chair of Neurosurgery. The Trust regularly supports scholarships, research and academic positions in the fields of medical and health sciences

Sir David Levene
Sir David Levene is an astute and talented business leader, who, over six decades, has been one of the leaders in modern retail practice in New Zealand and an exemplar of how to grow a small family business into a national presence.

Sir David started work in his father’s paint and wallpaper business in 1947. Following a trip to the USA in 1959 to research USA retail (and many subsequent trips), David started developing Levene & Co which became a major force in NZ retailing. The business was sold in 1994 with 52 retail stores along with large paint and wallpaper manufacturing factories.

Sir David began the second part of his business career with the formation of Quadrant Properties, which has a substantial property portfolio and is involved in numerous projects, and the investment company Lewis Holdings (named after his father). Through the latter he has interests in environmental monitoring specialists Aeroqual, the Digital Media Network, No. 8 Ventures, Unleashed Software (online inventory), biotech company Photonz and carbon fibre manufacturing. He is also a foundation investor in Auckland UniServices Limited’s New Zealand Seed Fund Partnership for emerging biotechnology and technology companies.

In 2010, David was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM) for services to business and the community. He has also been inducted into the North Shore, Manukau and New Zealand Business Halls of Fame. Among the many organisations and causes he contributes to and supports are the Outward Bound Trust and Parkinson’s New Zealand (he is patron of both). Sir David has become one of Auckland’s leading philanthropists with a particular focus on giving support to medicine and education, to the significant benefit of the University of Auckland.

Currently the University has 53 living honorary graduates, among them the Rt Hon Helen Clark, the Rt Hon Dame Sian Elias, Maurice Gee, Sir Anand Satyanand, Elizabeth Smither, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Dame Catherine Tizard and Sir Miles Warren.

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