Tuesday 5 February 2019 12:01pm
Professor Vernon Squire, who will retire from the University in April.
Professor Vernon Squire is set to retire from his position as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) after nine years in the role and more than 30 years at the University of Otago.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne commended Professor Squire for his “outstanding service” in not only his role as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), but also as part of the wider University community through positions in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the Division of Sciences.
“We look forward to celebrating Vernon’s outstanding contribution to the University when he retires in April,” she says.
Associate Professor Pat Cragg.
Associate Professor Pat Cragg, former long-standing academic in the Department of Physiology, will take up the position of Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) from 15 April until the end of the year.
“We appreciate how Associate Professor Cragg has risen to the University’s challenge of stepping into this key role, especially during our very busy 150th year,” Professor Hayne says.
Associate Professor Cragg worked at the University for more than 40 years, holding such roles as Head of Department; Associate Dean (Academic), Acting Dean, and Deputy Dean of the School of Biomedical Sciences; and Associate Dean (Academic) Division of Health Sciences, before retiring in May last year.
“It is an absolute privilege to be invited back from retirement to become the acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) during the hectic year of the University’s 150th celebrations,” Associate Professor Cragg says.
"I am nervous, but I feel strongly that universities need to be refreshed regularly with early career appointments."
“This is a wonderful opportunity for me to contribute again to the academic achievements and vibrancy that depict so well the University of Otago.”
Professor Squire has been Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) since 2010, having previously been the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University’s Division of Sciences for seven years. Before that he was the Head of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics for nearly a decade.
While he feels apprehensive about his retirement, he believes it is best for the University.
“I am nervous, but I feel strongly that universities need to be refreshed regularly with early career appointments,” he says.
Expressions of interest for the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) role will be sought later in the year.