World authority appointed to new leadership role

University of Canterbury
Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha

news release
8 December 2003

World authority appointed to new leadership role

Professor Kenneth Strongman, an international authority in the psychology of emotion, has been appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the University of Canterbury's new College of Arts from 1 January 2004.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Roy Sharp, said he was delighted with the appointment.

"He brings to the position an international reputation as a scholar and combines that with management experience and an understanding of the New Zealand university scene. Those qualities, and his proven success at Canterbury, meant Professor Strongman was the clear choice for the position from an international field of candidates.

"I am pleased to be able to announce such a strong appointment as the first of the five new positions and look forward to his leadership of the College of Arts," Professor Sharp said.

The appointment is the first to the new PVC positions that will head four Colleges and a School of Law in a university structure which takes effect on 1 January 2004.

Appointments to the PVC positions in Law and in Business and Economics are anticipated before Christmas, with the Engineering and Science positions in the New Year.

Professor Strongman has an international reputation as a scholar and is a world authority on the psychology of emotion. He is the author of 10 books, 64 academic papers in refereed journals, 10 book chapters and a host of book reviews, conference and seminar presentations, and invited addresses. His book, The Psychology of Emotion, is in its fifth edition and has been the definitive work on the subject since 1973.

For many years he has also reviewed television and popular fiction and many readers of The Press newspaper will be familiar with his book reviews, particularly of crime fiction.

His standing in the field of psychology has earned him Fellowship of the Royal Society of New Zealand, the British Psychological Society and the New Zealand Psychological Society. He was the inaugural Chair of the Psychologists' Board, serving for six years and helping establish a structure for the professional side of psychology in New Zealand and the registration of psychologists.

During a 40-year teaching and research career Professor Strongman has taught a wide range of courses in psychology at five universities and supervised more than 100 students for higher degrees.

He has also had extensive administrative experience, serving as Head of the Psychology Department for one year at Exeter University and for 15 years at Canterbury, as well as serving a one-year term as Head of Canterbury's Asian Languages Department. For six years he was Chair of the Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust Board, with responsibility for an annual budget of $6 million. He was appointed to the Senior Management Team at Canterbury in 2003, with responsibility for the College of Arts.

Professor Strongman was born and raised in England, completing BSc Honours and PhD degrees at London University. He was appointed a lecturer at Exeter University in 1964, rising to senior lecturer and acting HOD before being appointed to the chair in psychology at Canterbury. In addition to his roles at Canterbury, he has been a visiting professor at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, and is an Honorary Research Fellow at The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand.

ENDS

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