Vice-Chancellor Professor Robin Pollard has made a new senior management appointment of Dr Dione Payne to the position Director, Kaiārahi Māori.
Dr Payne is from the Mariu, Grace, Toka, and Puru whānau of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Waikato, Ngāti Whātua and Te Aupōuri.
Dr Payne graduated with her PhD from Victoria University in 2013 having completed an analysis of Māori land and confiscation in the 1960s in rural Waikato. Subsequently she took up the role as Academic Director with Kiwa Insitute of Education in Auckland. Prior to this Dr Payne had a varied and high profile career including roles at Te Wananga o Aotearoa, NZQA, Manukau District Court, Turuki Healthcare and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade where she served as Diplomat to Fiji and Tuvalu. An active researcher, she will be presenting two papers at the World Indigenous People’s Conference on Education in Toronto in July this year. Dr Payne shares an avid interest in Māori land development and economics, mahika kai, and apiculture all of which are included as part of her whānau 100 year plan entitled ‘Mā ngā mokopuna – for the grandchildren’.
Dr Payne is excited about working at Lincoln University not only to share her passion in an academic environment but to also increase and enhance engagement with Māori land by the owners, their communities and representatives. Lincoln is the only university poised to partner takata whenua and Māori communities in this way.
She will take up the position on Monday 3 April 2017.
Ki te moemoeā ahau, ka taea e au. Ki te moemoeā tātou, ka taea e tātou. (Te Puea Hērangi)
If I dream alone I can achieve something, but if we all dream together, we can achieve more.