Victoria’s Distinguished Alumni Awards announced

An economist turned-motorbike adventurer, a champion runner, marine explorer, leading educationalist, Family Court Judge and a renowned historian are the six winners of Victoria University of Wellington’s third Distinguished Alumni Awards.

The former Victoria students were selected as the award recipients last year. They are Gareth Morgan, Melissa Moon, Bill Day, Peter Boshier, Raewyn Dalziel and Anne Meade.

Victoria’s Vice-Chancellor Prof. Pat Walsh says the university is proud to recognise these alumni and their achievements.

“Victoria aims to instil its graduates with leadership, creative and critical thinking, and communication skills. Our 2009 Distinguished Alumni have progressed from their studies at Victoria to excel in vastly diverse disciplines and careers,” says Prof. Walsh.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to recognise the valuable contributions they’ve made not only to their community and country, but also on the global stage.”

The Distinguished Alumni Awards were inaugurated three years ago to recognise outstanding achievements by Victoria University graduates.

Bill Day is one of NZ’s most significant entrepreneurs, explorers and businessmen. He built Seaworks Ltd, a specialised marine company, from a commercial dive firm to a multi-million dollar business that lays underwater cables, runs underwater robots and works in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Seaworks has also undertaken the marine management for Stephen Spielberg and Peter Jackson feature films.

Bill was the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000, and in 2001 represented NZ in the World Entrepreneur competition in Monte Carlo. Bill has given three summers of his life to searching in the sub-Antarctic for the wreck of the General Grant and its treasure.

Bill graduated from Victoria with a BA in 1982, an LLB in 1986 and an MBA in 1993.

Dr Gareth Morgan is an economist, portfolio investor, motorcycle adventurer and fisherman. He is probably best known for his economics consultancy, Infometrics Ltd, but also runs Gareth Morgan Investments and Gareth Morgan KiwiSaver.

He is one of NZ’s leading economic commentators whose columns are carried by publications such as the National Business Review, the Dominion Post, the NZ Herald and the NZ Listener. He is often called upon to debate economic issues in the media and in 2008 was named by the NZ Listener as one of this country’s 10 most powerful people.

Gareth joined the Reserve Bank of NZ to develop its macro-economic forecasting model, before founding Infometrics with Andrew Gawith in 1983.

Gareth graduated from Victoria University with a PhD in Economics in 1982.

Melissa Moon is one of NZ’s most outstanding athletes. She has won 21 national athletic titles and seven national cross-country titles – a feat that no other NZer has achieved. She has represented NZ at more than 20 international events and won the World Mountain Running Title in 2001 and 2003. In 2001, she was named NZ Sportswoman of the Year.

Melissa is heavily involved in volunteer work for charities such as Meals on Wheels, Project K and the NZ Muscular Dystrophy Association, as well as mentoring underprivileged youth. She is currently an outreach worker at Wellington’s Compassion Centre and has previously worked for Wellington High School’s Learning Support Unit.

Melissa graduated from Victoria University with a GradDip Teaching in 1988.

Judge Peter Boshier is the Principal Family Court Judge of NZ. In 2006, he was named as one of the top 50 outstanding NZers by the NZ Listener. This honour was in recognition of his commitment to working with the government to reform the Family Court so its processes provide efficient and economic access to justice.

Peter has a long-standing interest in Pacific youth justice and in the field of child offenders. In 1999, he wrote a Child Offenders Manual, which provided a practical guide to successful intervention with child offenders. Since then, he has taught extensively in this area of the law.

Peter has held the position of NZ’s Principal Family Court Judge since 2004.

He graduated from Victoria University with an LLB (Hons) in 1975.

Prof. Raewyn Dalziel has been Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at the University of Auckland since 1999, a role that has also seen her serve the national scholarly community with great distinction. She was made an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit in 2004.

As a notable NZ historian, Raewyn has made a major contribution to the teaching of history and historical research, has published extensively on NZ politics and social history, and has worked across the spectrum of NZ history.

Raewyn has also made a major contribution to national policy development and its implementation, serving on a number of government working parties on tertiary education, and on the Humanities Panel of the Marsden Fund.

She graduated from Victoria University with a BA in 1965, a BA (Hons) in 1966 and a PhD in 1970.

Anne Meade has achieved an unparalleled reputation in NZ as an early childhood education scholar, researcher and influential policy adviser.

Anne was the director of the NZ Council for Educational Research for six years, Chair of the Special Education Board and a member of the Council governing the Wellington College of Education.

She is currently the director of Anne Meade Associates, an educational consultancy specialising in educational research, advice and writing with a focus on ECE. She is highly regarded for her educational leadership, communication skills and flair for creative problem solving of policy issues.

Anne was awarded a Queens Service Order in 1991 and made a Companion of the NZ Order of Merit in 2008.

She graduated from Victoria University with a BA in 1967, a BA (Hons) in 1973 and a PhD in 1979.