Researcher and composer to be director of Maori Centre of Research Excellence

A highly regarded researcher and composer, Dr Charles Te Ahukaramu Royal, has been appointed as director of Nga Pae o te Maramatanga, the Maori Centre of Research Excellence.

Dr Royal, who belongs to the Ngati Raukawa, Marutuahu and Nga Puhi peoples, will be the CoRE’s first full-time director, a role that reflects the on-going growth and significant success of Nga Pae o te Maramatanga in promoting excellent research from a Maori perspective, its chairman, Sir Tipene O’Regan, said.

“We are delighted to welcome Charles. He has standing in so many of the communities we engage with and brings exceptional strengths as a researcher and as a leading creative Maori thinker,” Sir Tipene said.

“Under Charles’ leadership we look forward to continued strong growth in supporting excellent research and to delivering the benefits that flow from this to Maori and all the nation.”

Based at the University of Auckland, since it was founded in 2002 Nga Pae o te Maramatanga has met an early goal of creating 500 new Maori PhDs ahead of target. Its research projects have been widely published in the world’s media and leading science journals, and it has supported numerous community and social policy projects taken up at government level.

Between 1996 and 2002, Dr Royal was director of Graduate Studies and Research at Te Wananga-o-Raukawa. In 2001, he was a NZ Senior Fulbright Scholar and a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellow. In 2004, Dr Royal was research resident at the Rockefeller Study and Conference Center, Bellagio, Italy.

Previously he has been chair of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, a member of the board of Fulbright NZ and is currently a trustee of the SOUNZ NZ Music Centre.

He has also been a member of the Oxygen Group and Chair of the Vision Matauranga Advisory Group, both convened by the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology. Prior to this appointment he was on the board of Nga Pae o te Maramatanga.

Dr Royal has written or edited several books on Maori song poetry, research and tribal history. He has composed works for orchestra and chamber pieces, with his Te Arikinui for tenor, strings and percussion having been performed at the Michael Fowler Centre. He has most recently been composing through Orotokare: Art, Story, Motion, a theatre and performing arts organisation he founded.

Dr Royal will begin as director on 1st December, taking over from out-going joint directors, Dr Tracey McIntosh and Prof. Michael Walker, who have filled the role in combination with their research and teaching roles at the university.