2026 Doctor of Science Honoris Causa - Robert (Bob) Anthony Crowder

Robert (Bob) Crowder was awarded an honorary doctorate in Science for his contribution to organic horticulture in New Zealand, having established horticultural science and the Horticultural Research Area (HRA) at Lincoln University in the 1960s, followed by the Biological Husbandry Unit (BHU) within the HRA in the 1970s. The BHU is now the only organic research and educational site at a tertiary institution in New Zealand, and many of the production techniques Bob pioneered are now widely used in mainstream cropping systems. 

Bob played a leading role in developing BioGro, an organic certification company. He was also an important contributor to Australian organics through his support for the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia, and he brought Pacific organics to the attention of the (then) Europe-focused International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM), serving as a Director on the World Board for a decade. In 1994, he brought the IFOAM conference and General Assembly to Lincoln, putting Lincoln University and New Zealand organics on the world stage.