Te Mana Whakahaere o Awanuiārangi

Council of Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi

Te Mana Whakahaere o Awanuiārangi

The council is the governing body of Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi

Justice Layne Harvey

Justice Layne Harvey was appointed to the Māori Land Court on 1 September 2002. Based in Rotorua, he is the resident Judge for the Aotea and Tākitimu districts

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Mr Rauru Kirikiri

Mr Rauru Kirikiri is a Wellington-based consultant, specialising in a range of Māori related issues including policy development, hui facilitation, strategic planning and cultural support for government departments and Ministers, environmental management matters and Treaty of Waitangi claims negotiations.

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Distinguished Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith

Distinguished Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith is one of the most influential and internationally recognised Māori scholars and researchers of the 21st Century.

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Ms Materoa Dodd

Materoa Dodd is a senior iwi and humanities leader with extensive governance experience across iwi, education, research, justice, social science and heritage sectors. She holds a Distinguished Fellow in the Humanities from Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.

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Dr Brian Tunui

Dr Brian Tunui is a qualified Chartered Accountant with experience in banking, investment, business, risk management and insolvency in the corporate sector.

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Ms Tania Rangiheuea

Ms Tania Rangiheuea was a former Victoria University lecturer in Māori and Women's Studies and is the Tumuaki/ Principal of Waatea School and Waatea Early Childhood Centre in Mangere, Auckland.

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Deputy Chief Judge Craig Coxhead

Deputy Chief Judge Craig Coxhead was appointed to the Māori Land Court in 2008 and appointed Deputy Chief Judge in June 2024. Based in Rotorua, he is the resident Judge for the Waiariki District of the Māori Land Court

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Mr Aubrey Tokawhakaea Temara

Mr Aubrey Temara is a senior leader of Ngāi Tūhoe iwi, an elder and convener of one of the Presbyterian Church’s standing committees.

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Mrs Tuihana Pook

Mrs Pook has been involved with education for many years with a focus on Māori, te reo Māori, and supporting her local community.

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Mr Charlie Tawhiao

Mr Charlie Tawhiao is the Chair of both Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi Trust and the Ngāi Te Rangi Settlement Trust. He has successfully led Ngāi Te Rangi through social, economic and political change.

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Ms Natalie Coates

Natalie is barrister at Thorndon Chambers. She holds a LLM (Master of Laws) from Harvard University as well as a Bachelor of Law (hons) and a Bachelor of Arts (hons)(majoring in Māori Studies) from the University of Otago.

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The Council is the governing body of Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and is responsible for the overall performance of the institution.

Its powers, duties, functions, and responsibilities are set out in the Education Act 1989. The Education Act 1989 was repealed, on 1 August 2020, by section 669(3)(b) of the Education and Training Act 2020.

The responsibilities are similar to those expected of universities and polytechnics with added special responsibilities that are expected of a Wānanga.

Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi is a Wānanga as defined in the Education Act and is registered as such since 1997. A Wānanga is characterised by teaching and research that maintains, advances and disseminates knowledge, develops intellectual independence and assists the application of knowledge regarding āhuatanga Māori (Māori tradition) according to tikanga Māori (Māori custom).

Āhuatanga Māori and tikanga Māori responsibilities are unique to Wānanga and have an impact on how the Wānanga looks, feels, operates and behaves.

The structure and operative style of the Council reflects the unique nature of Wānanga. While the Council and management are expected to meet the same compliance requirements as larger institutions in the university and polytechnic sectors, we are mindful that we are operating in Māori communities around the country, our students are predominately Māori and our staff are mainly Māori.

The Council is the governing body of Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi

The tasks we face are challenging

Management, teaching staff and Council aim to make a significant contribution to tertiary education and our country.

The shape of Council is influenced by the environment in which we operate and by the Act that defines what we are.

Thus the Council is fundamentally a partnership between the founding tribe Ngāti Awa and the Crown. Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa appoints six of the members and the Crown appoints four members. The Council will co-opt up to two other members who provide expertise in specialist areas relevant to Awanuiārangi.

Te Toi Apārangi o Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi

The purpose of this advisory roopu is to provide advice to the Council and to the Chief Executive regarding mātauranga Māori, te reo, tikanga, kawa and any other matters that concern Awanuiārangi.

Members of Te Toi Apārangi are fluent in te reo Māori, experts in āhuatanga Māori (Māori tradition) according to tikanga Māori (Māori custom) and have maintained a long-standing relationship with the iwi and with the Council. Members are native speakers steeped in te reo and tikanga and have long been acknowledged as tribal experts by the iwi and for their tireless commitment and dedication to mātauranga Māori.

Distinguished Professor, Sir Hirini Moko Mead

Qualifications: KNZM, FRSNZ, PhD (Southern Illinois), MA (University of Auckland), BA

Iwi: Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Tūhourangi

Distinguished Professor, Sir Hirini Moko Mead is a prominent and influential educator, scholar, historian, author, artist, writer and Māori leader. His significant contribution to education, Māori arts, language and culture spans over seven decades. His authored works are cited by scholars worldwide and he is sought as a commentator on Māori and Indigenous matters.

In 1968 he earned his PhD from the University of Southern Illinois. His notable academic career includes teaching at various schools across the Bay of Plenty, East Coast, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay regions and in Canada at McMaster University and the University of British Columbia. In 1977 he became the first Professor of Māori at Victoria University of Wellington — developing the first Māori Studies department in New Zealand. Upon retirement he founded Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.

He has achieved many honours including holding positions, such as the inaugural Chair of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa; Chair of Te Mana Whakahaere o Awanuiārangi from 2003 to August 2020; appointment to the Waitangi Tribunal in 2003; chief negotiator for the Ngāti Awa claims, which were settled in March 2005; made a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to Māori and to education in 2007 and in 2009 this was re-designated to a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit; the inaugural Chair of Te Pourewa Arotahi: Post-treaty Settlement Futures in 2010; a member of Te Toi Aparāngi in August 2020 and the inaugural Writer in Residence of Awanuiārangi from September 2020.

Distinguished Professor Sir Hirini Moko Mead

Dr Pouroto Ngaropo

Qualifications: MNZM, JP, D.MM (Hon. Causa), MMS, BMS, Dip Tchng

Iwi: Ngāti Awa, Te Kōtahi ō Te Awa o Te Atua, Tūhourangi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Pūkenga, Maniapoto, Tainui, Te Arawa, Ngāti Hauā, Hauraki, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Whātua, Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Waitaha, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Hauā.

Dr. Ngaropo is a distinguished leader representing numerous iwi. He is a Tohunga, Māngai, and cultural leader, fluent in te reo Māori and English, dedicated to the revival of te reo Māori. For over 30 years, he has advanced cultural competency across sectors and served as a senior judge at Te Matatini for 17 years. His academic background includes degrees in Māori Media, Te Reo Māori, and Māori Studies from AUT and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, where he is also a member of Te Toi Aparangi.

Dr. Ngaropo has held senior executive roles, including at Awanuiārangi, and contributed to governance as a Ngāti Awa Treaty Negotiation team member and Whakatāne District Councilor. He is internationally recognised for his advocacy of te reo Māori and tikanga, including his involvement in the Te Māori Exhibition in the U.S. His leadership preserves and promotes Māori cultural heritage across Aotearoa.

Independent Advisor: Ms Adrienne von Tunzelmann

Ms von Tunzelmann combines an extensive public sector background with in-depth experience and knowledge of governance roles, policy review in central and local government, business enterprise and community sector issues.

She holds a First Class Honours degree in Economics from the University of Canterbury, a Master of Public Policy from Victoria University of Wellington, and is a graduate of advanced management programmes in New Zealand and overseas (including executive management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management). She is a Distinguished Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Directors and at the Wānanga’s 2024 graduation was awarded Distinguished Fellow (Education), Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.

Ms von Tunzelmann’s experience spans leadership, and management positions in the public sector including in The Treasury, as Head of Parliament’s Select Committee Office and Deputy Clerk of the NZ House of Representatives and Group Manager in the Department of Justice where she had responsibility for the Treaty of Waitangi Policy Unit. Governance roles have included member of the Ageing Well National Science Challenge, board member of Osteoporosis New Zealand and Age Concern New Zealand, director on the board of Pharmac, University of Waikato Foundation trustee, President of the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce; trustee of the Bay of Plenty Community Trust (Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee), President of the New Zealand Institute of Public Administration, Chair of the New Zealand Women's Refuge Foundation. She is the long-standing Patron of the Tauranga Community Housing Trust. She is also a current member of the Te Whatu Ora/Health New Zealand Te Manawa Taki Regional Consumer Council.

In 2016, Ms von Tunzelmann was awarded the QSO for services to governance and the community. She was a council member of Te Mana Whakahaere o Awanuiārangi from 2005 to 2019. In 2019, Ms von Tunzelmann became an Independent Advisor to the Council.

Ms Adrienne von Tunzelmann (pictured)

Qualifications:

Master of Arts (First Class Hons, Economics), University of Canterbury; Master of Public Policy (with Distinction), Victoria University of Wellington.

Prime Minister’s Prize in Public Policy. Queen’s Service Order. Distinguished Fellow, NZ Institute of Directors. Distinguished Fellow (Education), Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.