A Global Women member and wāhine Māori academic leader has been internationally recognised for her remarkable leadership this past week.
In honour of her significant contributions to decolonising legal education and the research sector in Aotearoa New Zealand, University of Otago’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Māori) Distinguished Professor Jacinta Ruru MNZM (Raukawa, Ngāti Ranginui) was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Newcastle University, UK, in a ceremony on Tuesday.
Professor Ruru has a rich history of breaking the glass ceiling for both women and Māori in academia. Aotearoa New Zealand’s first Māori Professor of Law, and one of the first wāhine Māori to be recognised as a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, she is also a recipient of the Prime Minister’s Supreme Award for Tertiary Teaching and a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori and the law.
The honorary degree recognises Professor Ruru’s commitment to Indigenous people’s rights and Indigenous law. In particular, the award honours the work she has carried out around land and water management, and legal personality of the environment.
Professor Ruru says that she and her community have been both moved and deeply honoured by this recognition of her mahi.
“I’ve always strived to be brave in all I do, to see the possibilities for how our legal system and structures can provide justice and restitution for Indigenous peoples,” she says.
“With courage, we have the ability to create modern laws that are respectful and empowering of the first Indigenous laws of the lands and waters where we now live. It is remarkable to be receiving this honour from an English university.”
Professor Ruru has also been named amongst the PIE (Professionals in International Education) Asia-Pacific 50 Voices of 2024. This further international recognition honours her role as a new leader in international education.
We are delighted to congratulate Distinguished Professor Jacinta Ruru on this global recognition of her trailblazing leadership. Read more about Professor Ruru and her mahi here.