Welcome ceremony for Tagaloatele Professor Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop

30 October, 2009

Tagaloatele Professor Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop was appointed as the Foundation Professor of Pacific Studies at AUT University on October 30. Her official welcome included a Maori pōwhiri as well as a traditional Samoan kava ceremony led by members of the Pasifika community at AUT.

Guests included Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research at the AUT Institute of Public Policy Professor Ian Shirley, Te Toiahurei Pro Vice-Chancellor (Māori) at Victoria University Professor Piri Sciascia, Office of Pasifika Affairs director Pauline Winter, as well as various academics and community figures from both Wellington and Auckland Pasifika communities who gathered together for the event.

Photos by Melanie Cooper.