Purpose
The Vice-Chancellor’s Staff and Student Advisory Group (the Group) has been created to provide a forum for advice and input on areas of strategic opportunity and challenge for the University.
Objectives
- To be a forum where staff and student representatives can raise issues, opportunities and innovations for the attention of the Vice-Chancellor and the wider Senior Leadership Team, and get responses on those issues.
- To be a sounding board for strategic and high-level proposals from the Vice-Chancellor and Senior Leadership Team.
- To help guide the strategy and actions of the University to be able to meet staff and student concerns and to help identify opportunities for positive development and celebrating successes for the University.
- To provide opportunities for learning and development of Group members on how the University operates, such that these can be shared with those who they represent.
Scope
The Group has an advisory role on matters of strategy and operations of the University as per the objectives above. It does not have any management or operational decision-making authority.
Membership
The membership of the Group for 2026 will remain on the same basis as for 2025 (subject to the changes noted below). Where a member does not wish to carry on in 2026 they should ensure that the group that has elected/appointed them makes provision to elect/appoint a new member.
The Group has the power to co-opt members as it sees fit to fulfil its objectives.
Senior Leadership Team members, or others with relevant experience/expertise, will attend meetings as requested by the Chair only for the relevant agenda items in their areas, or at the agreement of the Group.
Method of work
The Group will meet every 6–8 weeks during the year. The Vice-Chancellor will chair these meetings. Meetings will normally be held in Dunedin, with Zoom access provided for those on other campuses.
The Group will agree at the first meeting of the year a workplan to guide the focus of the Group’s meetings for the year. The focus of this workplan will be longer-term issues that the Group wishes to focus on through the year. This workplan will not prevent other issues being raised throughout the year or at a particular meeting.
The agenda for each meeting will be set by the Vice-Chancellor on the basis of the workplan and after receiving advice from members on items that they wish to discuss. This advice should be received at least two weeks before a meeting to allow time for papers and
responses to be prepared. The agenda and papers will be distributed at least three working days before the meeting.
As much as possible the focus of meetings will be on discussion rather than receiving reports.
Sub-groups
The Group will have the power to create sub-groups to focus on specific issues.
Specific Terms of Reference for sub-groups will be approved by VCSSAG, and will include the provision to co-opt members to the sub-group.
Recommendations on decisions will be provided by the sub-group to VCSSAG for consideration.
Review of the group
The Group will review these Terms of Reference and the Group’s ongoing operation before the end of 2026.
Conflicts of interest
Members of the Group should declare to the Chair any conflicts of interest on items on the agenda of a meeting at the start of, or before, the meeting.
Confidentiality
As a matter of course the work of the Group is not confidential. Where a matter does need to be treated in confidence, the reasons for this will be clearly stated and members will maintain this confidence and not disclose any information unless agreed by the Vice-Chancellor.
Notes of Group meetings will be provided to the wider University community via normal communication channels. Notes will endeavour to represent views expressed at the meeting on the topics on the agenda, balanced with the need for confidentiality and accessibility.
Media
Members of the Group will not make media statements or comments to the media on the work of the group, unless agreed by the Group and the Vice-Chancellor.
The Vice-Chancellor will continue to make statements to the media on strategic and operational issues for the University.
2026 Membership
All members appointed until 31 December 2026.
Appointments for 2027 to be reviewed in late 2026.
| Role | Member |
|---|---|
| Convener | Hon Grant Robertson, Vice-Chancellor |
| Senior Academics |
Professor John Reynolds, Anatomy Professor Rachel Spronken-Smith, Graduate Research School Professor Roslyn Kemp, Microbiology and Immunology |
| Early Career Academics |
Dr Kimberley O’Sullivan, Public Health (Wellington) Associate Professor Christina Ergler, Geography *Dr Megan Leask, Physiology |
| Māori staff | *Associate Professor Robin Quigg, Public Health (Dunedin) Fran Munro, Research and Enterprise |
| Pacific staff |
Sia Lei-Mata’afa, Humanities Pacific Islands Students’ Support Dr Edmond Fehoko, Human Nutrition |
| Teaching Fellow / Professional Practice Fellow | Tracie Leckie, Management |
| Northern campuses | Professor Anna Ranta, Medicine (Wellington) |
| Professional staff |
Dr Jo Oranje, Student Services Melissa Lethaby, Disability Information and Support Michelle Taiaroa-McDonald, Mō Te Huka Mātauraka Māori Centre |
| Student representatives | *Kamesha Jones, Administrative Vice-President, OUSA *Troy Gibbons, Finance and Strategy Officer, OUSA *Sami Harrison-Dunn and Jarna Flintoff, Te Rōpū Māori Co-Presidents |
| Senior Leadership Team | SLT members will be invited as appropriate in relation to specific agenda items |
* Changes for 2026
VCSSAG ToR date adopted
16 April 2026