The 2016 Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards were held on Wednesday 17 August at Parliament, and NPM's two Co-Directors were both honoured individually for their outstanding body of work and sustained excellence in tertiary teaching.

The awards, which are administered by Ako Aotearoa, celebrate New Zealand’s finest tertiary teachers - as recognised by their organisations, colleagues, students and broader communities. 

Professor Jacinta Ruru and Associate Professor Tracey McIntosh were this years individual recipients of the Kaupapa Māori Category.

In addition to this Jacinta Ruru (Raukawa, Ngāti Ranginui, Pākehā) who is based at the University of Otago’s Faculty of Law, received New Zealand’s highest accolade for tertiary teaching - the Prime Minister’s Supreme Award! 

This award acknowledges Jacinta’s focus on creating a place for Māori to stand and be heard within New Zealand’s legal system.

As the first Professor of Law of Māori descent in New Zealand and the only Māori Law Faculty staff member at Otago University since 1999, Jacinta has been designing a new experience for students learning law. Her strategy brings greater focus to Māori experiences of the law, Māori relationships with land and Māori challenges for change in the classroom.

Tracey McIntosh (Ngāi Tuhoe) has been teaching for many years in the sociology and criminology programme at the University of Auckland, and her recent groundbreaking research focuses on incarcertaion, inequality, poverty and justice and motivating and inspiring the lives of her students. Her award recognises the transformative nature of her teaching programme, which is underpinned by a strong critical engagement with social issues and Māori advancement.

These awards to Jacinta and Tracey reinforce the importance of teaching that is informed by research excellence, and how this can contribute significantly to our goal of Māori keading NZ into the future. Quality Māori research and mātauranga is increasingly a part of both traditional and non-traditional classrooms and lecture halls across the country, and when combined with dedicated and determined teachers this is inspiring new generations of students and ultimately delivering positive change to our communities.

Prime Minister’s Supreme Award recipient 2016 and Award for Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching 
Link: Professor Jacinta Ruru (Faculty of Law, University of Otago)

Kaupapa Māori Award for Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching 
Link: Associate Professor Tracey McIntosh (Faculty of Arts, The University of Auckland)
 

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