Victoria's Distinguished Alumni Awards announced

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Fri Aug 03 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Victoria's Distinguished Alumni Awards announced

Friday, 3 August 2007, 12:51 am
Press Release: Victoria University of Wellington

MEDIA RELEASE

A long-serving high school principal, a lawyer and arts patron, a business leader, a leading scientist, a former Silver Ferns captain, and an internationally renowned humanitarian are the six winners of Victoria University of Wellington's annual Distinguished Alumni Awards.

After a call for nominations earlier this year, Janice Campbell, Dr Robin Congreve, Theresa Gattung, Dr Harry Keys, Bernice Mene, and Ross Mountain were selected to receive the awards.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Pat Walsh said that the awards were inaugurated last year to honour Victoria alumni who show notable achievement in their chosen field.

“Victoria endeavours to instil its graduates with leadership, creative and critical thinking, and communication skills.

"These six graduates have gone on from their studies at the University to excel in their vastly diverse disciplines and careers. We are delighted to have the opportunity to recognise the valuable contributions they have made in their community, country and internationally."

“The University is proud to recognise these alumni and their achievements.”

The six will be presented with their awards later this year at the Annual Alumni Dinner, a black-tie event held at the Wellington Town Hall on 11 October, principally sponsored by the Wellington City Council and the Dominion Post. Distinguished Alumni Awards are made each year at the dinner.

The following synopses provide a brief insight into the achievements of the six Distinguished Alumni Award winners.

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Janice Campbell was Principal of Wellington East Girls' College for more than 25 years. A successful multi-cultural school, it is highly regarded for its music, drama, sports and academic achievement. She was a tireless campaigner and lobbyist for the development and enhancement of her school, winning a Historic Places classification for the Main Building, landscaping the grounds, and successfully securing funding for a Sports Centre.

A past Chair of the PPTA New Zealand Secondary Principals' Council, Janice has been an active participant in the education debate, and in 2000 she was given an Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award by Wellington City Council. She is also a recipient of the Queen's Service Order and is a Justice of the Peace.

Janice gained her Bachelor of Arts in 1962, and her Master of Arts with Honours in History in 1965 from Victoria University.

Dr Robin Congreve is a highly regarded lawyer and a significant advocate and patron of contemporary New Zealand art. He has been a senior lecturer in law, a partner at Russell McVeagh specialising in tax and commercial law, and has served on the boards of numerous private and public companies.

After receiving an LLM with first-class honours, Robin was awarded a postgraduate scholarship to Oxford University, completing his Doctorate at the University of London. Returning to New Zealand, he taught legal systems, equity and taxation at Victoria for two years from 1974.

His passion for the arts is evident in his 20-year formal association with the Auckland Art Gallery, and together with his wife Erika he is a member of the Museum of Modern Art and Tate Modern International Councils. He is also a founding benefactor of Victoria University's Adam Art Gallery.

Robin gained his LLB in 1966 and his LLM in 1968 at Victoria, and was awarded his doctorate by King's College, London.

Theresa Gattung was Telecom New Zealand's Chief Executive Officer from 1999 to June this year. With a Bachelor of Laws from Victoria University, and a Bachelor of Management Studies from Waikato University, she began her career as Market Research Manager at Television New Zealand in 1985. She managed the marketing departments of National Mutual and the Bank of New Zealand before joining Telecom in 1994 as the General Manager of Marketing. She led Telecom through world-changing technology developments to positions of market leadership, and transformed the New Zealand business environment through the application of internet and mobile communications. In 2006 Fortune magazine ranked her #23 in their list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in International Business. The same year she was ranked #50 in Forbes magazine's Most Powerful Women in the World list.

Theresa gained her Bachelor of Management Studies with Honours from Waikato University in 1983, and was awarded her Bachelor of Laws from Victoria in 1987.

Dr Harry Keys Dr Harry Keys is a scientist at the Department of Conservation, with responsibility for volcano hazard management on the New Zealand mainland's most active volcano, Mt Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park. Harry recently played the lead role in the warning of police, other agencies and public around the mountain when the March 2007 lahar occurred, and in assessing the crater's condition the following day. He has also worked as an alpine guide on Mt Cook, and has visited Antarctica several times, including for PhD work with Professor Peter Barrett and Dr Alan Freeman, on the origin of salts in the McMurdo region, and glaciological work relating to natural hazards and global change. With his alpine and Antarctic experience, he was recruited to assist with the recovery of victims of the Erebus air crash in 1979, for which he was awarded a New Zealand Special Service medal.

Harry gained his Bachelor of Science in 1971, his Master of Science in 1973, and was awarded his PhD in 1981 - all from Victoria University.

Bernice Mene is best known for her decade-long netball career, captaining the Silver Ferns in 1997, 2000, and 2001. She represented the team through the Fisher & Paykel Cup, two Fisher & Paykel series, and the Tri-Nations series in 2001.

Since retiring from international netball in 2001, Bernice has involved herself in a range of projects, including sports writing and Athlete Career Education work for the New Zealand Academy of Sport. An experienced secondary school language teacher, from 2003 to 2007 she was a Secondary Futures Guardian, creating a vision for the future of New Zealand secondary education and she also represented New Zealand at International OECD education forums. She is a Sport and Recreation New Zealand Mission on Lifestyle Ambassador, a position that promotes healthy eating and activity in schools. She was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in 2002 for her sporting achievements.

Bernice graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Victoria in 1998.

Ross Mountain is the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ross has had more than 25 years of experience in the fields of economic and social development, and humanitarian affairs.

He has co-ordinated United Nations aid programmes in Lebanon, Liberia, Afghanistan, and Haiti. From 1998 to 2003, he served as the Assistant Emergency Relief Co-ordinator and Director of the Geneva Office of the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA. In October 2002, Ross led an inter-agency technical assessment mission to the West Bank and Gaza to prepare a humanitarian plan of action. In 2003, as head of the OCHA, he visited Iraq to review the humanitarian programme there. From January to October 2004, he served as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq.

Ross served as President of the New Zealand University Students' Association from 1966-1967. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Victoria University in 1969.

Ends

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