Email from Chancellor Cecilia Tarrant
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Tue Jun 10 2025 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Tēnā koutou
I wanted to share with you that Professor Dawn Freshwater has indicated her intention to step down from her role as Vice-Chancellor at the University of Auckland after nearly six years in office.
Professor Freshwater has the full support of Council to continue resolutely leading the University through its ambitious strategy and maintain the momentum we have gained together until the agreed handover in the first half of 2026.
We are grateful that she has given us an extended notice period. This will allow the University to commence a full international search for a new Vice Chancellor, while maintaining our momentum.
Professor Freshwater became the University’s first female Vice-Chancellor in March 2020 on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic. She successfully guided the University through a swift transition to online teaching, enabling domestic students and offshore international students to continue their studies.
Under Professor Freshwater’s leadership, the University has much to be proud of, including its global positioning as a top 100 University (QS 65 and of course the top 20 positioning in the impact rankings) in an increasingly competitive environment, our ongoing solid financials despite the uncertainty we now face nationally and globally; our increased domestic and international student numbers, and, in particular, the significant growth in postgraduate students as per the 2030 University Strategy.
During COVID-19, Professor Freshwater supported an extensive staff process to develop a new vision and strategy: Taumata Teitei’s Vision 2030 and Strategic Plan 2025, which was updated in 2024. This has guided Professor Freshwater’s tenure and the direction and focus of the leadership team.
Our collective focus, referred to above, has been underpinned by an unrelenting commitment to excellence in teaching, learning, research and innovation and the student experience. Combined with our dedication to sustainability and community through strengthening global and domestic partnerships, we have charted a course that, through ongoing evolution, will position the University to meet higher education challenges as the century unfolds.
During her tenure as a leader at the University of Auckland, Professor Freshwater has been dedicated to the betterment of our university, to serving the community and our nation and to ensuring that we contribute positively to the City of Auckland. She has also remained committed to the academy, personally ranking among the top two per cent of researchers worldwide in three discipline fields.
Professor Freshwater has worked tirelessly in the face of extraordinary times for the tertiary education sector and will leave the University in a position of strength.
Ngā mihi Cecilia
Cecilia Tarrant Chancellor