NEW ZEALAND: Vice-chancellors' body changes name

The New Zealand Vice-Chancellors Committee changed its name last week, saying that more than ever before it needed to speak with a unified voice.

The new name - Universities New Zealand-Te Pokai Tara - combines English and Maori and mirrors the name changes of organisations in Australia and the UK.

Launching the new identity, Chairman Derek McCormack said New Zealand's eight universities faced a set of challenges that were unprecedented in recent times. These included high demand for university places but also constrained government funding that meant universities had to cap their enrolments and leave some of that demand unmet.

"More than ever, now is the time for our universities to speak with a unified voice as we respond to these challenges," McCormack said.

"The name Universities New Zealand-Te Pokai Tara will help us to accomplish this. It offers us easier name recognition as we seek to remind the public about the vital role that universities play in New Zealand society," he said.

But he said the organisation would not get rid of its former name, the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee. It would keep that name in order to exercise its statutory functions and powers.

"The name Universities New Zealand-Te Pōkai Tara will be our public face, as it more accurately conveys the role we play as the peak body representing New Zealand's eight universities," its Executive Director Penny Fenwick said.

john.gerritsen@uw-news.com