Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Professor Dame Cynthia (Cindy) Kiro GNZM QSO with her Honorary Doctorate.
Dame Cindy, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu and Ngāti Te Rangiwewehi, is currently the twenty-second Governor-General of New Zealand after being appointed in October 2021, and the first Māori women to hold the office. Prior to this appointment, she was the CEO of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi.
Dame Cindy has worked extensively in roles that improve life outcomes for children and young people who experience social marginalisation or exclusion, focusing upon equity and diversity as a constructive contributor to society. She was New Zealand’s fourth Children’s Commissioner, establishing the Taskforce for Action on Family Violence.
Much of Dame Cindy’s career has been in the tertiary education sector, where she became a distinguished researcher, and held leadership roles at Massey, Victoria University and the University of Auckland.
Dame Cindy was appointed as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to child wellbeing and education on the New Year 2021 Honours List, and later appointed as an additional Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit and Companion of the Queen’s Service Order.
Her ties to Massey began in 1995, when she joined the university as a Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Work and Social Policy, working at the newly established Auckland campus. She also completed her PhD at Massey in 2001, which focused on Māori health policy and practice.
Following her tenure as the Children’s Commissioner, Dame Cindy returned to Massey in 2009 as Associate Professor and Head of the Research School of Public Health, where she continued her role as a distinguished health researcher.
Professor Chris Cunningham, who nominated Dame Cindy for the accolade, says she is one of Massey’s most illustrious alumna, whose trajectory from Senior Lecturer to Governor-General demonstrates both her successes in academia and her commitment to the service of Aotearoa New Zealand.
“Dame Cindy combines the very best of New Zealand’s diverse whakapapa – acknowledging that both her Māori and her English ancestors have helped to deliver her to this distinguished destination. Her academic background in social sciences and public health, her contribution to child wellbeing, and her strong sense of public service make her a fine recipient of this prestigious award from Te Kunenga ki Purehuroa Massey University.”
Massey University honorary doctorates are awarded to individuals of distinction who have made a significant contribution to the university, the nation, or the public.
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